Talk by Dr. Sveva Magaraggia
Unveiling Gender-Based Violence: Theories, Media Narratives, and Social Campaigns in Italy
Sveva Magaraggia, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milano-Bicocca
Date: July 31, 2024
Time: 10am MDT
Location: Tory Building 12-15, University of Alberta or
Online: https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/95935692726?pwd=4a1na3bFRFX2D0e3PR7nV26aou0MHS.1
Abstract: In November 2023, tens of thousands protested Italy’s patriarchal culture and its relationship to gender-based violence after the murder of Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old student studying engineering at the University of Padua in Italy. Giulia’s father said at the funeral: “her death can, rather must, be the turning point to put an end to the terrible scourge of violence against women.” This femicide garnered international and national attention, spotlighting a persistent problem. Indeed, 120 women were murdered in 2023 in Italy. Gender-based violence, including femicide, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and other forms of violence, reflects deeper cultural norms shaping our gender identities, intimate relationships and social and political life. Addressing gender-based violence requires scrutinizing its mediatized, cultural, and social underpinnings. This seminar intends to: 1) introduce theoretical frameworks to unravel the complexity of gender-based violence as a structural issue; 2) present empirical insights into gender-based violence in Italy; 3) critically examine recent Italian social campaigns aimed at preventing gender-based violence.
Bio: Sveva Magaraggia is an Associate Professor at the University of Milan-Bicocca in the Department of Sociology and Social Sciences. She holds an MA in Women's Studies & Research Training from the University of Lancaster, UK (2004), and a Ph.D. in Applied Sociology and Research Methods from the University of Milan-Bicocca (2008). Currently, she is a member of the Inter-University Centre for Gender Studies “Culture di Genere” at the University of Milan-Bicocca. In 2015, she received a DAAD Scholarship to conduct research on gender relations and parenthood in Frankfurt, Germany. She also explored the same topic in Sydney, Australia, in 2012, under the Endeavour Research Fellowship awarded by the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. She is now working under the Canada-Italy Innovation Award 2024 (project: CAPTIVATE: Comparing GBV Institutional Campaigns in Canada and Italy Open Research Meeting, with Dr. Bailey Gerrits).
Funding provided by The Embassy of Canada to Italy. Thank you to the Institute for Intersectionality Studies and the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta for their support, as well as thank you to Dr. Bailey Gerrits (Mila Mulroney Research Chair in Women, Policy and Governance Leadership at Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, St. Francis Xavier University) for hosting.
For questions, please contact Dr. Gerrits at bgerrits@stfx.ca