Participants in the round table included Francisca Expósito, lecturer of Social Psychology and Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Granada; Victoria Aurora Ferrer, Gender in Social Psychology lecturer at the University of the Balearic Islands; and Ángel Hernando Gómez, associate lecturer at the Department of Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Education at the University of Huelva.

The Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Granada, Francisca Expósito, reminded us that, according to the WHO, “the main cause of death and injury in women aged 16-44 is gender violence, exceeding traffic accidents and cancer”. Expósito maintains that the risk of violence increases “when women are more successful and threaten the traditional balance of power in the relationship.”

In view of the current situation, the experts agreed on the need to continue rolling out gender violence prevention campaigns, especially those targeted at younger people.

In this respect, Ángel Hernando asserted that in order to increase the effectiveness of these programmes, it is necessary for them to be “continuous over time” and that they are implemented using a “systematic approach” that involves the whole milieu. Hernando also highlighted the importance of involving everyone involved, from students to teachers and parents, and of having monitors to act as mediators with young people. According to Hernando, “these programmes foster empathetic attitudes and good self-esteem, which will lead to a higher tolerance of frustrations.”

The round table session was followed by several smaller workshops where the importance of education in the prevention of gender violence was addressed. The seminar formed part of UIC Barcelona’s commitment to the Spanish Government’s Pact Against Gender-Based Violence.