Fanshawe students present at United Nations Committee on the Status of Women forum

Students from Fanshawe’s Bachelor of Science – Nursing (Collaborative) and General Arts and Sciences programs recently had the unique opportunity to deliver a presentation at the United Nations Committee on the Status of Women forum. Billed as a global gathering for gender equality, the forum took place from March 9 to 20. The hybrid event included sessions delivered in person in New York City and virtually; the Fanshawe delegation, consisting of students in the Gender Studies course with Professor Amanda Zavitz, delivered their session virtually on March 13.

The presentation, titled Justice is hard to stomach, looked at barriers to safety, equity, and justice for women and girls in London, Ontario. They focused on local examples, like intimate partner violence and institutional responses to sexual assault, including cases connected to Western and the Hockey Canada scandal. These examples illustrate how gender-based violence and inequality are present in our own community.

Leah Amaral, a second-year student in the Collaborative Nursing program, was one of the presenters and shared her experience of presenting at a United Nations event.

“I think the magnitude of the experience didn’t fully hit me until we were presenting and seeing names and comments from individuals around the world,” said Leah. “It was really rewarding to receive positive feedback and have people engage with what we were saying.”

Through their presentation, the students shared the message that although Canada is often seen as progressive and equal, that doesn’t always reflect what people experience.

“We challenged the idea of Canadian exceptionalism, or the belief that Canada is an entirely fair and equal country, and talked about how that mindset can slow down accountability and further progress,” added Leah.

The students closed their presentation by proposing an anti-sexism toolkit focused on helping institutions move toward more transparency, accountability, and survivor-centered approaches. 

While the session was intended to share their knowledge with others, the students came away from the experience with valuable lessons learned as well.

“One of the most unexpected takeaways for me was just how local and prevalent these issues are,” said Leah. “It’s easy to think of gender inequality or violence as something that happens somewhere else, but throughout this experience, it became really clear how present it is in our own community. These are situations affecting people our age, in our schools, and in spaces we’re connected to.”