In August this year, The Netherlands was shocked by the tragic death of Lisa from Abcoude. In what should have been a safe journey home, Lisa was killed in the middle of the night in Duivendrecht, cycling home from a night out in Amsterdam.
In light of this, and in concert with annual Orange the World campaign, the WO&MEN@VU network would like to invite staff, students and the entire VU community to take a stand together and follow a joint Walk-Out at 12:30 on Tuesday 25th of November at the VU campus.
The purpose of this Walk-Out is to remind us all of the dangers faced by womxn - in The Netherlands and across the world – and provide a rallying cry for action.
Orange the World is a global campaign of the United Nations Programme for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) against violence towards women and girls. The campaign takes place every year from November 25th, International Day against Violence against Women, until December 10th, International Human Rights Day. Across the globe, buildings are light up in orange in reference to this, including the VU’s very own 02 Building.
This year however, we want to take this action a step further. Therefore, we would like to invite you to walk-out from your offices and buildings on the VU Campus at 12:30 – ideally wearing orange yourself – and join the members of the WO&MEN@VU network on grass campus quad opposite Grand Café Living.
We will begin with a two-minute silence in remembrance of Lisa and countless other victims of gender-based violence. Following this, there will be a 5-minute speech on the topic of Gender-based violence at 12:40 by Dr. Saartje Tack.
The programme will finish at 12:45.
We hope to see you there, and please feel free to email l.j.grace@vu.nl with any questions.