Gender Equality Commission
The activity took place at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE) and included the participation of the institution's rector, Elisa Araya; Undersecretary of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, Luz Vidal; prominent national and international guests; and the teams that address gender violence in the CRUCH universities.
The challenges for the year 2025 of the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission in terms of eradicating violence are at least four: Consolidate and strengthen the teams that address violence in universities; advance in the area of prevention with initiatives that engage students and the university community; address the construction of masculinities and how sex-affective relationships are conceived; and continue reflecting on and providing tools to the teams that address violence in universities.
For the sixth consecutive year, the teams and professionals working on gender violence from the institutions of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) met to reflect on and share experiences in the areas of prevention and research, as well as sanction and reparation of gender violence and discrimination in the university context.
Under the slogan “Gender violence in the university context, an uncomfortable reality”, the activity was carried out on December 5 and 6 in a hybrid format at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE), thanks to the organization of the Gender Violence Eradication Axis of the CRUCH Gender Equality Commission and the support of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, through the Fund for Equality.
“What the universities have done in these 5 years is very interesting. What is being established is a reflection that will necessarily lead to a cultural change,” began Elisa Araya, rector of UMCE, at the inaugural session.
She added, “We understand that awareness campaigns and visibility efforts are important, but the next and more profound step is pedagogy, education, and behavioral transformation. These are changes that are achieved through systematic work, modeling, guidance, and dedicated individuals.” Finally, the rector congratulated the university teams for their daily work.
For her part, Angélica Marín, coordinator of the CRUCH commission and executive secretary of the Gender and Sexualities Office at UMCE, reviewed the main lines of work over the past few years. “The CRUCH universities have carried out sustained work in developing and updating their protocols for action against violence and discrimination based on gender. The same is true for their policies. Furthermore, they have collaboratively developed technical guidelines based on experience, such as the Kaleidoscope Model: a proposal for addressing gender violence in the university context Y Recommendations for equipment care, "It is geared towards those who work in the field of violence," he noted.
The meeting also included the Undersecretary for Women and Gender Equity, Luz Vidal Huiriqueo, who praised the rectors and academic staff of the universities for being part of “this Chile we are building today, with regulatory frameworks that align with international standards.” With the ratification of Convention 190 (Concerning Violence and Harassment of the International Labour Organization, ILO), the Law Karin (21.643), the Comprehensive Law (21.675), the Conciliation Law (21.645), and the Parental Responsibility Law (21.484), “what we are giving to the citizens is greater well-being. It is for women, but also for the citizens as a whole,” she emphasized. "To advance "in building a healthier society, where there is no discrimination, where people are treated equally, where they are treated with respect, universities are fundamental," Vidal stated.
Upcoming challenges
Meanwhile, Hayley Durán, coordinator of the Gender Violence Eradication Axis of the commission and acting coordinator of the Gender Equity Unit at the University of Aysén (UAysén), stated that “the work of the axis is a barometer that allows us to see how universities are progressing and what tensions are arising.” She also highlighted the role of Law 21.369, saying that «while it has, in some ways, created tension in what we were working on, it is what will sustain the gender unit teams at universities.”.
Regarding the challenges for 2025, Durán identified four main ones. The first is to consolidate and strengthen the teams that address violence in universities. Second, “in the area of prevention, it is necessary to continue advancing in developing initiatives that engage students and the university community as a whole. To do this, we know we need to improve communication strategies for models and procedures. We must appeal to innovation and creativity,” she noted. The third challenge is “addressing how masculinities are constructed and how sexual and affective relationships are conceived,” and finally, “continuing to reflect on and provide tools that are useful to the teams that address violence in universities,” she emphasized.
Experience Panels
The university experiences presented at the meeting addressed three areas: those related to the prevention of gender violence; research, punishment and reparation of gender violence; and comprehensive policies on gender violence.
In the first panel, “University Experiences: Prevention of Gender Violence
The panel discussion, "Mapping Safe Spaces," featured psychologist Ilian Rebolledo and social worker Claudia Balmaceda from the Gender Office of the University of Talca (UTalca). Their presentation addressed the identification of safe and unsafe areas on the university's campuses, involving students, staff, and faculty, along with awareness-raising activities including talks and informational materials. The second panel discussion, titled "The Dice of Equality," was led by María Paula Poblete Bravo, Director of Gender Equity and Diversity, and Gabriel Alarcón Barrera, Gender Equity Manager, both from the Catholic University of Maule (UCM). Their presentation aimed to raise awareness about gaps and progress in gender and human rights, which, they explained, has fostered spontaneous and planned participation, generating awareness and strengthening the institutional culture on gender issues.
The second panel, “University Experiences: Research, Sanction, and Reparation for Gender Violence (UChile),” featured the presentation “Addressing Gender Violence at the University of Chile: The Experience from a Decentralized Care Model,” presented by María Soledad Berríos, coordinator of the Sexual Harassment Prevention and Care Area of the Gender Equality Directorate. She outlined the implementation of a model for addressing gender violence, focused on timely, comprehensive, and inter-institutional collaboration, offering socio-legal support, mental health services with a gender perspective, and an initial intake system. Following this, Débora Jana, coordinator of the Gender and Diversity Observatory of the Gender, Diversity, and Equity Directorate at the University of Santiago, Chile (USACH), presented “Institutional Model for Researching and Sanctioning Gender Violence: Information Systems and University Policies on Gender Violence in Higher Education.” She shared this model, based on an information system that monitors cases and trends. Meanwhile, “Beyond the punitive: design and experience of psychoeducational work with people sanctioned for sexual harassment and/or gender violence (2022-2024) at the Diego Portales University (UDP)” commented by the director of Gender, revealed the psychoeducational device that works with people sanctioned for gender violence and seeks to promote reflection, accountability and prevent recidivism, through workshops and self-instructional courses.
The third panel included Hayley Durán, coordinator of the Gender and Inclusion Unit at UAysén, who presented the “Evaluation of the Prevention Model: main findings,” which covered the period 2022-2023 and included tri-sector surveys in its analysis. The surveys revealed that only 181% of the community is familiar with the model, although 85% recognize the awareness campaigns. Therefore, it is concluded that it is necessary to improve the communication strategy, expand participation in diagnoses and training, and promote awareness of gender violence and discrimination, among other things. The University of Antofagasta (UA), for its part, was present with “Experiences linked to the implementation of the Comprehensive Gender Policy of the University of Antofagasta: progress, critical issues and institutional barriers” through the psychologist in charge of prevention, Fernanda Muñoz, and the psychologist in reparation in gender violence, Sebastián Viveros, both from the Equity and Inclusion Unit, where they made known the progress and challenges in the implementation of their policy, and highlighted the exploration of models of care and reparation aimed at affected people, such as the narrative approach.
Guests
In addition to the panels, the presentation “Law No. 21,369, Reflections Based on Some Court Rulings. Ongoing Challenges” was shared by the legal team of the Gender Violence Eradication Unit, represented by Karina Salas, a lawyer from the Gender and Sexualities Office of UMCE. This presentation addressed reflections on this law from the perspective of court rulings in Chile, highlighting the challenges for universities in implementing policies against gender violence. It also included an analysis of the national and international regulatory framework—including treaties such as CEDAW and Belém do Pará—and invited reflection on how to balance institutional responsibilities and individual rights in the educational context.
Similarly, representatives from the Undersecretariat of Higher Education participating in the Intersectoral Roundtable of Law 21.369, the advisor on gender, interculturality and human rights, Yarela Gómez, and the Gender Advisor of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Diana Bravo, who presented “Table 21.369: challenges of implementing the law”, reported on the instance that seeks to coordinate and articulate various state bodies to implement this law that regulates sexual harassment, violence and gender discrimination in the field of Higher Education, where the joint work with other ministries and relevant bodies stands out in order to develop complementary regulations, such as the Comprehensive Law against Gender Violence, strengthening the state response to these problems.
The day also included the presentation of “The Instrument on Gender Violence and Discrimination (UMCE Equality Fund)”, by Svenska Arensburg and part of the team from the Center for Applied Psychology of the University of Chile (CAPs-UChile), which consisted of the process of developing the second Survey on Gender Discrimination and Violence at UMCE, and the details of the stages of formulating objectives, methodology, validation and results.
As for the guests at the meeting, the first was the distinguished academic, researcher and psychoanalyst from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ana María Fernández (see more in https://www.anamfernandez.com.ar/), who developed the talk “Politics of love? Violence, consent and subalternity”, where he opened reflections regarding consent and the approach in cases of violence, the implementation of devices according to criminal or inadequate behaviors, the need for accompaniment, affective responsibility and imaginaries about sexuality, and the absence of comprehensive sex education.
Also present was Sofía Brito, a researcher from the University of Chile, writer, and activist, who gave a talk entitled "From the Feminist May to Law 21.369: Trajectories and Challenges from the Perspective of Consent." In her talk, she addressed topics such as the feminist movement that emerged in universities—highlighting the 2018 movement—the institutionalization of regulations and mechanisms for addressing gender violence in the university context, the "opacity" of consent, and the remaining tensions and challenges.
See also press release from MinMujeryEG: https://minmujeryeg.gob.cl/?p=55416
Text: CRUCH Communications and Communications Office of Gender and Sexualities UMCE.
Photographs: Communications Office of Gender and Sexualities UMCE.
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