“Gender, Disability and Violence” International Conference

Thursday 6 – Friday 7 October 2022, Sofia, Bulgaria

 

It is our pleasure to announce the upcoming MILIEU conference on “GENDER, DISABILITY AND VIOLENCE” to be hosted on 6-7 October 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences within the framework of the MILIEU project.

Challenges: The nature of human violence is complex and there are still many questions that we have yet to address regarding its biological or social origins, but disability theory and feminist studies have already shown that certain groups of people are twice as likely to be subjected to acts of physical, psychological and social aggression. Women and persons with disabilities are at severe risk of becoming victims to systemic and continuous violence, due to their relatively lower socioeconomic status or relatively higher financial or physical dependence on their partners or caretakers. An even more vulnerable subset of both these groups are disabled women, whose experiences of violence are shaped by their disability and exacerbated by negative social perceptions or attitudes such as dehumanization, objectification, stigma and pathologization, especially in cases of lawful medical violence. In addition, gender-based violence already bears considerable correlations to issues like lack of legal and social protection, mental illness, medical conditions, and substance abuse, thereby further decreasing the victim’s ability to lead an independent, healthy life. Last, but not least, women and persons with disability are very likely to experience instances of disrespect at home, at the workplace or during social situations, which may harm their dignity and leave them feeling violated in a profound way. It is important to foster rigorous, culturally sensitive academic research which explores the links between these phenomena, explains the social mechanisms operating behind them, and proposes effective strategies for intervention and prevention.

Objectives: Recognising the above-mentioned challenges,  MILIEU would like to contribute to the current academic discourse on gender, disability and violence by organizing a conference where these topics shall be approached from multiple different academic and/or professional perspectives in a semi-formal hybrid environment. The goal of this two-day interdisciplinary event is to bring together researchers from different levels and various academic backgrounds in the social sciences and humanities in order to discuss gender, disability and violence, as well as the areas and ways in which these factors overlap, intersect, or interact. As part of our effort to encourage participation from Ph.D. students and early-stage researchers (ESR) working on these topics, on the second day of the event we will host a special workshop for young academics.

Proceedings: The abstracts of the presentations will be published in an abstract book, that will be uploaded on the project webpage (optional). In case there are enough participants willing to submit their papers for publication (so that a volume is collected), the proceedings from the conference will be published in a special issue in an indexed journal.

Practical info: The language of the conference is English. The conference will be carried out in person in Sofia with a possibility for online participation and you will be asked to indicate your preference upon registration. The organizers will provide lunches and coffee breaks for both days of the conference. There is no participation fee for the conference. The participants will have to cover travel and accommodation expenses themselves.

Registration deadline: September 10, 2022

Questions can be sent to: info@milieu-h2020.eu 

 

Find out more information and book your place here: https://milieu-h2020.eu/event/4943/

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