Gender Equality Commission
After holding their annual meeting at the Arturo Prat University in Iquique, the directors of gender equity from all over the country exchanged experiences on the implementation of their institutional policies to prevent and eradicate potential violence and discriminatory practices in educational communities.
“We faced the implementation of the law in a very good way,” said the rector of the University of Aysén, the academic authority in charge of that CRUCH Gender Equality Commission.
Sharing and analyzing experiences on progress in the design, implementation and evaluation of gender equality policies in Higher Education at the national level was one of the main objectives of the annual meeting of the Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), held at the Central House of the Arturo Prat University (UNAP) in Iquique, Tarapacá Region.
The event brought together directors of gender equity from universities across the country for two days of work and was chaired by Natacha Pino Acuña, Rector of the University of Aysén, in her capacity as Rector in charge of the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission. Karen Jacob Chung, Director of Gender Equity and Diversity at UNAP, hosted the annual meeting.
Progress
Rector Natacha Pino gave a positive assessment of the progress made by universities in the context of Law 21.369, in force since September of this year, which "Regulates sexual harassment, violence and gender discrimination in the field of Higher Education," which constitutes a significant step forward for the promotion of equal gender relations, and for establishing safe and free environments for all people in the academic communities.
“Although the work of the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission dates back much further, in light of the implementation of the Law, we have been monitoring its progress in each of the universities belonging to the Council of Rectors. And the truth is, we are quite advanced. I believe we are handling the implementation of the law very well,” stated Rector Pino Acuña, who is also the president of the Association of Regional Universities (AUR).
Better prepared
She noted that there are still improvements to be made, but asserted that CRUCH institutions are currently the best equipped in the country in terms of gender equality and compliance with the new legislation. This is achieved through the respective gender equality policies at each university, with procedures for preventing, sanctioning, and eradicating violence and arbitrary discriminatory practices.
“Perhaps what lags a little behind has to do with mainstreaming and incorporating these topics through the curriculum, for example. But issues of institutionalization or eradication of violence are much more developed. So at CRUCH we are among the universities that are best prepared to address these issues,” the academic authority stated.
Natacha Pino highlighted the collaborative work between universities in remote areas, and especially with the rector of UNAP, Alberto Martínez Quezada.
State Universities
Just as within the CRUCH (Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities), the institutions grouped in the Consortium of State Universities (CUECH) have also worked within their communities to advance the development and implementation of their gender equality policies. They have established gender units or departments, implementing policies and procedures for the prevention, punishment, and eradication of gender-based violence and arbitrary discrimination. Furthermore, they have facilitated the recognition of the chosen names of transgender people—students, faculty, and staff—in university procedures and documents, and are working to incorporate a gender perspective into curriculum renewal, seeking to eradicate sexism in all educational spaces.
official visit
As acting rector of UNAP, the Academic Vice-Rector, Dr. Liliana Herrera Campos, held a formal meeting with Rector Natacha Pino. Also present was the Director of Gender Equity and Diversity at the University, Karen Jacob Chung. “It is a great pleasure to have Rector Natacha Pino visit us, especially in this context where our university is hosting her,” Dr. Herrera stated during the meeting.
Meanwhile, Karen Jacob, speaking at the same annual meeting of the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission, emphasized the need to raise awareness of the challenges and situations faced by regional universities and those in remote areas of the country, such as UNAP and the University of Aysén. She also gave a positive assessment of the two days of workshops held.
“In particular, the work of the Commission has been very good, very fruitful in the sense of being able to visualize the processes that we are also carrying out in the Institution (…) there are other universities that are in the same task and that support is super important,” Jacob noted.
*Source: Arturo Prat University
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