Alicia Johnson, interim diversity officer and director of the Women’s Center at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, served as a panelist during a Monday symposium on addressing violence against women and girls in and through sports.

The event, titled Victory over Violence: Addressing Violence against Women and Girls in and through Sports, was held in New Canaan, Connecticut and hosted by UN Women, Grace Farms Foundation and the No More Foundation.

Alicia Johnson

Johnson, who took over as interim diversity officer last week after the departure of Damira Grady, was part of the panel for a session called Comprehensive Essential Services and Support for Survivors and moderated by Global Rights for Women executive director Cheryl Thomas.

“It was incredible to be in the same space as individuals leading global efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls,” Johnson said. “My experience co-leading prevention efforts at UWO paired with my scholarly background in gender and sports positioned me to be a bridge between general prevention efforts and sport. Everyone in attendance agreed that it is urgent for the forum be a starting point, not a stopping point, for the conversation.”

The overall objective of the event is to bring together survivors, practitioners, national and international experts to build an understanding of violence against women and girls in sports; share promising practices and lessons learned on prevention of this violence and response in and through sports; strengthen partnerships and leverage the sports platforms to end this violence; and set recommendations and calls for action for sports-related institutions and actors to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in and through sports.