HeForShe Launches Global Ideathon To Address Gender-Based Violence At Universities

NEW YORK, Nov. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UN Women announced today the launch of the first-ever HeForShe Ideathon in support of the United Nations Secretary-General's Campaign, UNiTE to End Violence Against Women, observed annually from November 25^th – December 10^th. Targeted at the student population, the HeForShe Ideathon will launch 24 hours of problem solving on December 3^rd, 2015 by providing students with a global platform to generate personal and action-oriented solutions on how to address gender-based violence on universities. The New York HeForShe Ideathon will be hosted by Twitter, a HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 Champion at the company's New York City Headquarters.

Since the launch of HeForShe on 20 September 2014, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world have raised the bar for gender equality. Among the many responses to the solidarity movement has been the creation of more than two hundred HeForShe Student Associations globally. The Ideathon builds upon HeForShe youth focused work and in particular the #GetFree University Tour aimed at bringing the important conversation on gender equality directly to students around the world. By tapping into students' enthusiasm and will to make transformative change, HeForShe is looking forward to announcing today's generation as "the last class" to tolerate gender-based violence on campus.

Gender-based violence remains one of the most brutal and widespread human rights violations in the world. Today, research suggests that one in four women in the US will be sexually assaulted on her college campus, and that LGBTQ students are twice as likely as their peers to experience gender-based violence at university.

The Ideathon kit can be downloded here.

Want your college to participate in the HeForShe Global Ideathon on December 3^rd, 2015? Please email us directly to get your Ideathon toolkit at: heforshe(at)unwomen(dot)org

UN Women is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. For more information, visit www.unwomen.org.

Created by UN Women, the HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality provides a systematic approach and targeted platform on which men and boys can engage and become change agents towards the achievement of gender equality. HeForShe invites men and boys to build on the work of the women's movement as equal partners, crafting and implementing a shared vision of gender equality that will benefit all of humanity. For more information, visit www.heforshe.org/

Media Contact

Tara Mullins
Ogilvy Public Relations
[email protected] 
212.880.5243

SOURCE UN Women

Related Links

http://www.unwomen.org