About Us

About Gender Equality Center

Gender and Violence Studies Centre (GVSC) is an academic centre established in 2011 with funding provided by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). The centre has also received matched funding from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The project is a partnership between the University of Bristol (Centre for Gender and Violence

Research) and the University of Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Initially, the GVSC was based at the Sociology Department and, since 2014, is part of the University’s Presidential Office.

The Centre aims to:

• Contribute to the process of developing the existing curriculum of Sulaimaniya University by introducing women and gender studies to members of teaching staff and students from the Sociology Department.

• Broaden the scope of teaching and improve its quality through introducing the analytical concept of gender and gendered violence as well as relevant theories and research methods linked to gender studies and social work.

• Increase the research capacity of scholars and students linked to the Sociology Department at the university through the introduction of analytical concepts as well as qualitative research methods crucial to gender studies.

• Increase sensitivity and awareness about gender issues in general and about gendered violence both within the higher education sector as well as within society more widely.

• Contribute to improving the opportunities for and representation of female professionals in the Iraqi Kurdish higher education sector.