Tec de Monterrey and UN join forces against gender violence

Aiming to promote gender equality and the prevention of gender violence in its community, Tec de Monterrey has signed the “Safe Campus for the Prevention of Gender Violence” partnership agreement with UN Women.

The signing of this agreement makes the Tec the first educational institution to be part of the Safe Campus Program in collaboration with the international organization.

“We reaffirm our commitment so that reducing gender gaps at our institution continues to be a priority,” said David Garza, Rector and Executive President of the Tec, during the meeting.

“The agreement with UN Women involves increasing efforts to achieve a cultural transformation and exchange knowledge and experiences,” Garza added.

Also present at the signing of the agreement were Belén Sanz, UN Women representative in Mexico; Inés Sáenz, the Tec’s Vice President of Inclusion, Social Impact, and Sustainability; and Mario Adrián Flores, Vice President of the Tec’s Monterrey Region.

Tec is the first university to join the Safe Campus Program

Tec de Monterrey will be the first university to implement the Safe Campus Program with the support of UN Women, said Inés Sáenz.

“This partnership with UN Women is very important, as this agreement helps us to boost and continue building gender equality from a very important place, which is the eradication of gender violence,” said the vice president.

Belén Sanz explained that the implementation of Safe Campus is based on an adaptation of one of UN Women’s global programs called Safe Cities.

“The methodology we provided to the Tec has already been tested in different cities, with positive results. This is the first time it will be applied to a university.

“We’ve promoted the adaptation of the Safe Cities Program for women and girls that is implemented in urban spaces. In the Tec’s case, it is innovative, including a comprehensive three-pillar model of action,” Sanz said.

“We reaffirm our commitment so that reducing gender gaps at our institution continues to be a priority.” - David Garza

Sanz added that the Tec is taking part in this innovative opportunity thanks to the history of collaboration that has existed between the two institutions since 2019, when they signed the #HeForShe collaboration agreement.

“We realized that the Tec would provide a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate that safe campuses for women and girls are achievable, beneficial to the entire community, and can be replicated on other campuses.”

The program will be implemented first at the Monterrey campus, which has a population of approximately 20,000 students. It is expected to eventually be replicated in all the institutions that make up Tecnológico de Monterrey in the country.

The three pillars of Safe Campus

The “Safe Campus for the Prevention of Gender Violence” program developed by UN Women consists of a methodology with an active approach based on three pillars:
 

1. Impact on the Tec community

This consists of preventing gender violence through the participation of students, faculty, staff, and trainers, among others, in activation sessions, awareness-raising workshops, and measures aimed at good prevention practices.

2. Internal transformation

This focuses on the implementation of policies and actions aimed at gender equality, with objectives for women’s representation and development pathways, as well as the elimination of gender violence within the Institution.

3. Social transformation

This promotes the transformation of social norms, attitudes, and behaviors in the Tec community, through communication measures in favor of the rights of women in all their diversity, to have safe educational spaces that are free of violence and discrimination.

“At UN Women, we promote these types of partnerships because we are convinced that universities are catalyzing centers that generate the formation of society and influence the mindset of young people who graduate from their educational communities,” said Sanz.

“This idea of Safe Campus has a systemic approach. We can’t think of a safe campus as a small fraction of the reality in which we live. We have to think about society as a whole and how to do it through an institution such as Tec de Monterrey,” said the vice president.

Impacting society through universities

UN Women studies reveal that universities are one of the public spaces with the highest risk of violence for women, said Sanz, but they are also places where societies can be set on the path to gender equality and safety for all people.

“Universities are very influential centers for society as a whole. It’s where future decision-makers are educated. At UN Women, we’re committed to the university space because it’s a space for transformation.

“We need young people to be agents of change. If a university such as the Tec invests its efforts, creativity, and will from the highest level into this transformation, it will surely have a replicating effect on Mexican society and the world,” said Sanz.

“The methodology offered to the Tec has already been tested in different cities, with positive results. This is the first time it will be applied to a university.” - Belen Sanz

The Tec’s Vice President for Inclusion, Social Impact, and Sustainability agreed that a joint effort such as this can generate a change of culture in society.

“Starting from the fact that the Tec is an institution of society for society, we want to be that catalyst and change society as a whole.

“We’re convinced that by working hand in hand with institutions such as UN Women, we’ll achieve a cultural change and have an important impact on society,” added Saenz.

She added that all actions implemented in relation to Safe Campus, as well as their progress, will be documented so that other higher education institutions can learn about the program.

Tec actions for gender equality

In 2019, Tec de Monterrey signed a partnership with UN Women to join the global movement called #HeForShe, which includes nine commitments to promote gender equality and to tackle and eradicate violence against women.

“That agreement signed with UN Women in 2019 transformed us. Over the years, it has helped us promote actions that move us towards gender equality and the elimination of gender violence,” said Saenz.

Then, in 2021, the institution presented the Gender Equality Plan 2021-2025, which promotes the creation and implementation of policies and actions to generate equal opportunities for everyone in the Tec community.

Sáenz highlighted that the institution has promoted efforts to create spaces where everyone feels safe, included, and valued, such as the redesign of open and inclusive spaces, and the standardization of staff benefits.

Other measures included consolidation of the Center for the Recognition of Human Dignity, the Gender and Safe Community Office, which has 22 service centers on different campuses, and an Action Protocol for Preventing and Attending to Gender Violence.

“We’re convinced that by working hand in hand with institutions such as UN Women, we’ll achieve a cultural change and have an important impact on society.” - Ines Saenz

David Garza pointed out that the Tec has voluntarily joined initiatives such as the National Observatory for Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions.

“External parties reviewed what we do at Tec and issued an evaluation that places us as one of the best-evaluated private universities nationwide. But what really matters is the learning and the feedback that these processes give us,” said Garza.

The Tec is also part of the University Network of Gender, Equity, and Sexual Diversity from the Association of Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean.

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