Lunch symposium: Global challenges, local leaders: conversations for the next generation public health leaders

Friday 14 November, 12:55 – 13:55 (Helsinki time) 


Organised by:

EUPHAnxt, WHO Regional Office for Europe

Breaking the silence on violence against women and girls: how public health leaders are embedding Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response across systems, settings and disciplines

Violence against women and girls is a pervasive public health issue with profound health consequences for individuals, communities, and health systems. Its integration into broader public health work remains uneven. This one-hour workshop will aim to broaden the conversation with an introductory presentation by a GBV prevention and response expert, who will outline the health sector’s critical role in addressing violence against women and girls. The session will then move into a dynamic panel discussion featuring public health leaders from diverse domains—including injury prevention, health systems policy, humanitarian response, and public health education. While the panellists are not specialists in GBV, they have encountered GBV in their work and will share their insights on:

  • the barriers they faced in integrating GBV prevention and response into their area of expertise,
  • the strategies and enablers that helped them move forward, and
  • the lessons learned for embedding GBV prevention and response more systematically across public health practice.

This session aims to inspire reflection, foster cross-sectoral dialogue, and identify actionable pathways for strengthening the health sector’s response to GBV.

Chairs:

  • Jinane Ghattas, EUPHAnxt
  • Emilia Aragon de Leon, WHO Regional Office for Europe

Speakers/panellists:

  • Melanie Hyde, Technical Officer Gender, Equity and Human Rights, WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development, Venice, Italy
  • Miljana Grbic, WHO Representative, Head of WHO Country Office in the Republic of Moldova
  • Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative, Head of WHO Country Office in Ukraine (TBC)
  • Maria Papadakaki, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences and Welfare, Hellenic Mediterranean University, President EUPHA Injury prevention and safety promotion section
  • Kasia Czabanowska, Professor in Public Health Leadership and Workforce Development, Maastricht University, EUPHA Working group on Gender equality and Women’s empowerment

Programme:

Opening remarks (5 min)

  • Welcome and introduction by chairs

Keynote intervention (10 min)

  • Overview of violence against women and girls as a public health and human rights issue by Melanie Hyde (online)

Panel discussion (25 min)

  • Focused on discussing the barriers Public health leaders face when integrating GBV prevention and response into their work, the strategies and enablers that helped them move forward, and the lessons learned for embedding GBV prevention and response more systematically across public health practice.

Open discussion and Q/A (10 min)

Closing (5 mins)

Registration not required

Registration is not required. Delegates who are registered for the main EPH Conference can attend free of charge. Get your lunch in the Exhibiton / Catering Area, walk in and join the session.