Addressing Gender-Based Violence through the ERA Policy Framework: A Systemic Solution to Dilemmas and Contestations for Institutions

The consequences of gender-based violence in academic cultures are severe for individuals, the study and work climate, and for the quality of research and education. EU and national policy frameworks are developed since long, guiding academic institutions work on ending violence and abuse in the European Research Area (ERA). In this article, a critique and solution to specific dilemmas and contestations immanent in transforming ERA wide policy development into effective actions on the institutional level are presented. The analysis and policy input builds on extensive knowledge from long-term gender mainstreaming programs in national contexts, thorough experience from working amidst a research political landscape with conflicting academic, political, and bureaucratic paradigms, and research-based knowledge on policy development on gender-based violence. A core contribution from the article is the development of a generic, intermediating, and systemic institutional framework for implementation, acknowledging both the ERA policy developments and the day-to-day challenges on the institutional level, from the viewpoint of succeeding in ending gender-based violence in all ERA institutions. Also, a model for monitoring and evaluation of progress on the institutional level is proposed, accompanied by assessment criteria and a set of well-defined indicators. The proposed institutional framework can serve as an important step forward, in a collaborative effort among ERA stakeholders, and serve as inspiration for global academic institutions and national contexts to foster progress on the endemic of gender-based violence permeating academic communities.