Moldovan Medical University joins campaign, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence

Chisinau, 30 November /MOLDPRES/ - The Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy (USMF) from Moldova on 2 December will organize a string of events, through which the University is set to raise the awareness of the public opinion about the violence against women. The institution informs that it joins the campaign titled, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence.  

Lawyer Arina Turcan-Dontu from the Women’s Law Centre (WLC) will hold a  public lecture for students on the gender-based violence and sexual violence at the Nicolae Testemitanu USMF on 2 December. The event’s goal is to attract the attention of the public opinion and decision-makers to the gender-based violence phenomenon, especially the sexual violence, and to combat the stereotypes.      

Two symbol exhibitions for backing the women victims of violence will be inaugurated in the hall of the USMF teaching block on the same day at 16:15.  

The exhibition titled, Do not Lay Blame on Clothes, will present the stories of 11 women and girls from Moldova – victims of the gender-based violence. The stories are accompanied by a reconstruction of the clothes worn by the victims at the moment of the committing of the abuse and are aimed at raising the awareness about the subject of sexual violence. Also, the tragic story of Ana-Maria from Orhei will be unveiled, who was kidnapped and cruelly murdered by a former policemen in April 2024.     

Another exhibition represents one of those 16 models of the campaign, Do you see me? Ask for help for me, initiated by the UN Women Moldova. Through these models, the organizers have the goal to raise the public’s awareness and stimulate concrete actions. The realistic figures of 16 women hit by violence, created by artist Victoria Peev, and their stories will become a voice for the women who suffer in silence, will contribute to the enhancement of the degree of awareness and to the community’s mobilization for change.    

The exhibitions are organized by WLC and UN Women Moldova and are financially supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the representation in Moldova and will be staged at USMF Nicolae Testemitanu till 6 December, this year.

The campaign is organized between two significant dates: 25 November - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and 10 December – Human Rights Day, highlighting the fact that the gender-based violence stays the most spread infringement of the human rights in the world.