On July 9th, during the VOICES Final Conference in Paris, Philippe Liotard and Elif Kaya, leaders of Working Group 4, delivered a powerful speech that urged European institutions of higher education to move from policy-making to deep cultural transformation in their efforts to eliminate gender-based violence (GBV).

Their intervention began with a necessary distinction: while gender gaps concern inequalities in access and representation, gender-based violence involves psychological, sexual, or symbolic acts of harm—often normalized and rooted in unequal power dynamics. Both are symptoms of a sexist, heteronormative, and patriarchal institutional culture that remains entrenched across many European universities.

“Academic culture tolerates silence,” they affirmed, “and it used to protect perpetrators through hierarchy, discouraging disclosure.”

A Network for Listening, Action, and Change

Over the past three years, Working Group 4 of the VOICES network has served as a space for research dissemination, policy design, and collective reflection. More importantly, it has functioned as a safe space—a community where participants could speak freely about experiences ranging from everyday sexism to sexual assault within academic settings.

Drawing on data from initiatives like UniSAFE, which reports that over 60% of students and staff in European universities have experienced some form of GBV, WG4 has highlighted a critical gap: the lack of institutional consequences and support, despite growing numbers of national and European policies.

The conclusion is clear: policies alone are not enough. What is required is a cultural shift—a rethinking of academic norms and power structures.

Tools for Institutional Transformation

Liotard and Kaya stressed that we are not starting from zero. Across Europe, universities are beginning to implement tools inspired by the 7P model of UniSAFE:

  • Prevalence: Building data to shape policy
  • Prevention: National training plans and awareness-raising
  • Protection: Reporting systems and institutional accountability
  • Prosecution: Clear disciplinary frameworks
  • Provision of Services: Psychological and legal support
  • Partnerships: Collaborations with feminist and LGBTIQ+ groups
  • Policy: Comprehensive institutional action plans

These efforts are being further developed by the GenderSAFE project, which pushes for the inclusion of LGBTIQ+, racialised, and disabled people in all institutional responses.

Queering Academia and Embracing Intersectionality

In one of the speech’s most powerful moments, the speakers argued that real transformation demands we go further: we must queer higher education. This is not only about visibility, but about fundamentally redefining knowledge, legitimacy, safety, and power.

Queering, they emphasized, does not mean assimilation into existing norms, but disruption of those very norms—particularly when they marginalize certain bodies and experiences.

“A white gay student and a racialised trans student face different risks,” they reminded us.
“We must address racism, classism, and ableism alongside gendered violence.”

This means embracing intersectionality, not as a buzzword, but as a structural imperative.

From Fragmentation to Coordination

The speech concluded with a call for multi-level coordination — combining local, national, and European efforts to combat GBV in higher education. The work of student unions, feminist collectives, and institutional frameworks must be mutually reinforcing.

As the speakers noted:

“Let us not stop at raising our voices. Let us change the structures that silence others.”

The VOICES network has shown that such change is possible — but it requires commitment, political will, and a willingness to challenge the deepest assumptions of our institutions.

Toward a Culture of Radical Inclusion

By queering and democratizing institutional culture, we can transform universities into spaces of radical inclusion and care — where research does not simply describe violence, but actively contributes to dismantling it.