On March 7, 2011, just before the International Women's Day, a debate will be organized by the Åland Islands Peace Institute in the auditorium of the Åland Parliament at 6 p.m. The debate is about how to prevent sexual violence and it is organized in response to the current debate on rape and sexual crimes legislation on Åland. The Åland debate has centered on sexual crime laws, but not as much on society's perception of sexual violence, the norms associated with gender, on gender equality and on how to prevent sexual violence.Speaker of the Åland Parliament, Roger Nordlund will be the moderator for the debate. The Peace Institute’s project manager, gender expert Jenny Jonstoij will speak about the current debates on sexual violence in Sweden and on the mainland. In addition, she will discuss how sexual violence and causes for sexual violence can be viewed from a gender equality perspective. Is sex an equality issue and are there any destructive gender norms that may contribute to the prevalence of sexual violence?
The Secretary General of the Åland Government, Susanne Eriksson will present the draft of the initiative to amend the sexual crimes legislation, that the Åland Parliament shall submit to the Finnish Parliament. What opportunities are there to influence National Legislation, why is there a need for an overhaul of sex laws, and what starting points should the legislation be based on?
A panel of people, whose work concerns issues related to sexual violence, gender equality or preventive work shall comment and discuss the subjects of these presentations.
The Peace Institute operates together with the Resource Center for Women Marta in Latvia on the project “Challenging gender roles for Prevention of Trafficking”. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Government of Åland. By girl and boy group activities and information efforts, the project wants to challenge prevailing gender norms, to promote gender equality and to prevent sexual violence, including trafficking.
Peace work includes prevention of violence, promotion of peaceful conflict resolution at all levels and strengthening of the individual’s ability to participate actively in society. This is why the Peace Institute is pursuing its work in the sphere of gender equality and the girl- and boy- group approach.
