The young people who arrived at the Athletes Boulevard of the Brazilian University Games (Jubs) this Friday (10) were faced with a new scenario. Red chairs scattered around the space displayed the phrase: “this chair is empty because a woman who could have been studying was a victim of feminicide”. The objects commemorate the National Day to Combat Violence against Women and are another of the actions carried out with students and visitors at the Jubs’ main meeting point, the Athletes’ Boulevard, located at the Natal Convention Center and which will operate until the end of the competition, on October 18th.
The chairs are part of a larger project by Ser Educacional, the company that supports the universities Uninassau, Unama, Uninorte, Uni7, Unifal and UNG. The Ser Mulher Program aims to alert the academic community about feminicide. To do this, he placed chairs, like those on display at Christmas Jubs, in the company’s classrooms. In addition to the highlighted phrase, the chairs have a QR Code that gives access to an informative booklet on violence against women and the main reporting channels.
According to Ser Educacional’s Environmental and Social Governance manager, Adriane Mendes, bringing the project to Jubs was a symbolic and necessary gesture: “University sport is a space for life, dreams and coexistence, but it is also a space for reflection and empathy. This empty chair represents women who are no longer here because of gender-based violence, but it also symbolizes our commitment to not silence ourselves in the face of this reality.”
“Sport is a place of dialogue, respect and transformation, which is why we reaffirm that sport educates, welcomes and also saves lives. Each empty chair is an invitation to the collective responsibility of taking our place in the fight for the lives of women in our society”, adds Adriane.
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In addition to the empty chair project, the Ser Mulher Program carries out other actions. Among them the offer of digital degree scholarships for women victims of domestic violence, psychological support and legal assistance for victims in psychology teaching clinics and in the units’ legal practice centers.
Also this Friday, the first part of the sanitary pad donations collected by Jubs participants was delivered. According to the coordinator of CBDU Social, Elaine Morellato, 28,150 units were delivered to three schools in Natal. However, the fundraising campaign will continue next week. “In addition to receiving, we reach those who need it most”, he states. The second delivery of sanitary pads will take place on October 17th.
