When the law meets reality: YOU PART enters university classrooms

As part of the week dedicated to YOU PART, the University of Trieste hosted one of the most significant events of the program: the seminar “Harassment in the Workplace: Protections and Prevention Tools,” led by Professor Maria Dolore Ferrara, Professor of Labor Law and President of the University’s CUG. The Aula Magna was filled with young people between 18 and 28 years old, curious to better understand how the law addresses a phenomenon that, in everyday life, too often remains hidden or is told in an incomplete way.

From the very first minutes it was clear that this was not the classic lecture; Professor Ferrara chose a participatory approach, engaging with the audience, asking questions, seeking opinions, presenting real cases, and encouraging those present to view gender-based violence not only as a social or emotional issue, but also as a complex legal topic. She explained what we really mean when we talk about gender-based violence, which laws intervene to protect victims, how the law operates between national and international regulations, and what responsibilities institutions, communities, and individuals have. All this while maintaining a steady, inclusive, and very practical pace, because the aim of the seminar was not to accumulate notions, but to learn how to read them within everyday reality.

The activity’s program also included two moments of self-reflection. Before the lesson began, participants filled out a Jotform questionnaire to capture their starting knowledge: what they understood by gender-based violence, whether they knew Italian regulations, how informed they felt about reporting procedures, and whether they believed the phenomenon was present in their own community.

On this point, Professor Ferrara shared some relevant data regarding the University of Trieste: in 2025, 20 cases were reported to the CUG’s Trusted Advisor, of which 3 serious cases were forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office, 2 reports led to informal internal intervention, and 3 cases were handled as serious situations at the GOAP help desk. These numbers helped show that the phenomenon is not at all distant or rare, but present even in contexts perceived as “safe” and familiar.

Simple questions, but designed to bring out personal perceptions, unconscious biases, and information gaps. At the end of the meeting, the same tool was used again anonymously, this time to collect immediate impressions: what had been learned, which points had struck them most, and how much more capable they now felt of recognizing and countering a situation of violence.

The professor also added some national data on the underreporting of workplace violence: 86% of people do not know whom to turn to in case of harassment, and 93% report a total lack of internal training in their workplaces. These percentages opened an important moment of discussion on the urgency of clearer tools, continuous training programs, and greater accountability from organizations.

Mimma Dreams, in fact, insists a lot on this aspect: participation is not just listening, but contributing, being an active part, transforming what you have learned into stories and testimony.

During the seminar, a moment was also dedicated to the Youthpass, the European certificate that recognizes skills acquired in non-formal learning contexts. For many students, it was an opportunity to discover that there are official EU tools that value not only what you study, but also what you experience: intercultural awareness, civic communication, a sense of initiative, and social participation. Skills that a meeting like this inevitably activates and strengthens.

An important section was also dedicated to the University of Trieste’s Code of Prevention of Harassment: the professor illustrated the fundamental principles of the document, the role of the CUG, reporting procedures, the protections provided, and the value of cultural as well as procedural prevention. A concrete example of how an institution can equip itself with clear and transparent tools to address and counter gender-based violence in places of study and work.

Among the activities planned for the students (and vice versa), a participatory exercise had a strong impact: each participant was asked to write on a post-it what they thought was the greatest obstacle to equality and, on a second post-it, a possible solution to counter violence in the workplace. Afterwards, all the notes were collected and analyzed in a collective brainstorming session, distinguishing whether each suggestion called for individual action or organizational interventions. A simple and immediate way to turn awareness into proposals, and proposals into shared responsibility.

Professor Ferrara’s concluding message was clear, direct, and deeply consistent with the spirit of YOU PART: knowing the law means better recognizing what is happening around us. It means not minimizing, not looking the other way, not letting violence remain invisible. It means becoming more aware citizens, able to bring useful tools into their daily lives for themselves and for others. In the last minutes of the seminar, a different kind of attention could be felt in the room: as if, after three intense hours, many had begun to look at gender-based violence with a broader, more informed, more mature perspective.

And ultimately, this is the heart of the project we decided to launch: to create spaces where young people can learn, reflect, engage in dialogue, and leave a little more ready to act in their world.