Today, Tuesday, 25 November, at 11:00 a.m., on the esplanade located between Modules C and D of the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, the manifesto was read on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The manifesto, drafted by the Gender Equality Units Network for University Excellence (RUIGEU), states the following:
25 November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a day of denunciation, reflection, and commitment in the face of one of the gravest violations of human rights. Despite the legislative and social progress achieved, millions of women in Spain—as in the rest of the world—continue to suffer gender-based violence in its various forms. According to the 2019 Macro-survey on Violence against Women, 11% of women residing in Spain—more than two million—have suffered physical violence from a partner or ex-partner, and 40.4%—over eight million—have been victims of sexual harassment at some point in their lives. These figures demonstrate the magnitude and persistence of a structural reality that concerns society as a whole and requires a firm, coordinated, and sustained response over time, based on scientific evidence, technical criteria, and expert personnel. In this context, there is particular concern over the growing visibility of social groups that challenge progress towards equality and the spread of denialist narratives promoted by specific political sectors, which question the very existence of gender-based violence.
According to the Youth in Spain Report 2024, there has been a worrying decline in support for feminism and gender equality among young people (aged 15–29). The perception of gender-based violence as one of the most significant social problems has also decreased notably among youth. This regression reflects the impact of denialist narratives that lack any scientific rigor. Consequently, it is imperative to strengthen education in gender equality, non-discrimination in all its forms, human rights, and critical thinking, as well as to promote the dissemination of rigorous academic research conducted from a gender perspective in our universities. It is also essential to further integrate an intersectional perspective, which, according to current university regulations, is crucial—alongside the gender approach—for building a truly equal, inclusive, diverse, safe, and caring society and, therefore, university community. This approach allows us to recognise the diversity of experiences and take action against the interconnected forms of violence and discrimination that women suffer due to their skin colour, religion, origin, sexual orientation and gender expression, age, class, disability, or other personal conditions or characteristics.
In this context, equality units also express concern about how digital violence has spread and become normalised among university students. We are currently living through a time of profound social transformation, with the rise—and in some cases, misuse—of technology, which has brought to light the same systemic forms of violence present in society and, increasingly, in the digital sphere. Anonymity and the impossibility of temporary disconnection (as violence can occur repeatedly, 24 hours a day) result in extreme forms of aggression against those who suffer these sexist attacks. This year, on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action—a landmark achievement for feminism in the struggle for the rights of women and girls, gender equality, and the rebalancing of power structures worldwide—the RUIGEU Equality Units reaffirm their role as essential structures under the LOSU. Their work is crucial for awareness-raising, prevention, training, and the mainstreaming of equality in the development of university policies.
For this reason, we consider it absolutely unacceptable that, even today, there are equality units that do not receive the funds from the State Pact against Gender-Based Violence allocated to the Autonomous Communities. Institutional responses to such a serious violation of human rights cannot be paralysed or weakened by political denialism. In the face of violence, not one step back.
The undersigned universities are part of the Gender Equality Units Network for University Excellence (RUIGEU):
Universitat d’Alacant, Universidad de Alcalá, Universidad de Almería, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universitat de Barcelona, Universidad de Burgos, Universidad de Cádiz, Universidad de Cantabria, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad de Córdoba, Universidade da Coruña, Universidad de Deusto, Universidad de Extremadura Universitat de Girona, Universidad de Granada, Universidad de Huelva, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Universidad Internacional de Andalucía, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Universidad de Jaén, Universitat Jaume I de Castellón, Universidad de La Laguna, Universidad de La Rioja, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Universidad de León, Universitat de Lleida, Universidad de Málaga, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Universidad de Mondragón, Universidad de Murcia, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Universidad de Oviedo, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Universidad del País Vasco, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universitat Politècnica de València, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Universitat Ramon Llull, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Universidad de Salamanca, Universidade Santiago de Compostela, Universidad de Sevilla, Universitat de València, Universidad de Valladolid, Universitat de Vic- Universitat Central de Catalunya, Universidade de Vigo y Universidad de Zaragoza.
