ONLINE: Confronting Sexual Violence in the Settler Colonial University

media release: The Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Distinguished Lecture Series (DLS) Committee in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, will host a live, virtual conversation with victims’ rights advocates Sarah Deer, J.D., and Bonnie Clairmont on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. CDT.

The discussion will address land acknowledgments, colonial gender-based violence in a university setting defined by ongoing settler colonial occupation, and developing best practices for students and faculty who are working to fight these issues.

The discussion, titled “Confronting Sexual Violence in the Settler Colonial University,” will include a moderated discussion followed by a 30-minute question and answer session. UW-Madison Assistant Professor Kasey Keeler will moderate the discussion. 

The WUD DLS Committee will livestream the event on YouTube and Facebook. All can attend this event.

Sarah Deer is a legal scholar, sexual violence expert, and distinguished professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies and public affairs and administration at the University of Kansas. She authored the award-winning book, “The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America.” Her work focuses on the intersection of federal Native American law and victims’ rights, using indigenous feminist principles. Her work to end violence against Native American women has received national awards from the American Bar Association and the Department of Justice. 

Bonnie Clairmont works to provide and improve services for survivors of sexual assault, battery and child sexual abuse, particularly those from American Indian communities. She serves as a victim advocacy specialist with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. Among her many accomplishments and efforts to make a difference, she co-edited “Sharing Our Stories of Survival,” an anthology by Native American women who have experienced violence.

“This event is not only timely but extremely important considering UW-Madison rests on Ho-Chunk land,” said Caoilfhinn Rauwerdink, associate director of marketing and outreach for the WUD DLS Committee. “These incredible women will unpack sexual violence and colonialism, but they won’t stop there. They will offer useful ways that our campus community can apply what they learn to our own lives.”

The WUD DLS Committee presents this event with the support of the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health’s Native American Center for Health Professionals as well as UW-Madison Law School’s Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center. 

This event is made possible by the Our Shared Future Teaching and Learning Grant awarded to the UW-Madison Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. The grant is given to academic units on campus to spark learning and encourage understanding about the Ho-Chunk Nation and land as part of the Wisconsin Experience. 

The WUD DLS Committee hosts lectures by engaging experts to encourage thought-provoking conversations.

WUD includes 11 committees and six Wisconsin Hoofers clubs that program thousands of events each year. All UW-Madison students are welcome to join the committees and clubs that help make Wisconsin Union experiences for a lifetime possible. 

Those interested in attending the upcoming discussion with Deer and Clairmont can learn more about the event here.