First Sexual Harassment Awareness Day and Equality Box
Institutional Communication Service
27 March 2023
USI actively joined in the first Sexual Harassment Awareness Day on Thursday, 23 March, a national campaign to prevent sexual harassment and sexism in the workplace, inviting people to reflect on their behaviour, respect the boundaries and take responsibility for themselves and their neighbours.
Awareness-raising booths were set up at the Lugano, Mendrisio and Bellinzona campuses and were attended by students and staff members of the USI community. Fortune Cookies containing awareness-raising messages on the topic and presenting the campaign materials, the video message of the Rectors of the Swiss universities and teaching schools featuring USI Deputy Rector Lorenzo Cantoni, and the awareness-raising video featuring Dr Rosalba Morese, a researcher at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, lecturer at the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society for the social psychology course and head of USI in ascolto.
Particular attention was given to the resources active at USI that can be drawn on to request professional and specialised support:
USI in ascolto (USI is listening)
USI psychological counselling
University mediator
Work psychopathology laboratory of the cantonal socio-psychiatric organisation (OSC), which was given the mandate to welcome and support those suffering from symptoms (physical or emotional) linked to the socio-occupational situation
To mark the day, the "Equality box" was relaunched, a unique letterbox that anonymously collects any requests for support, reports, thoughts and suggestions on gender, equal opportunities and diversity.
The "Equality box" is a tool available to the entire academic community and can be found at
- the foyer of the main entrance to the West Campus Lugano;
- the secretariat of the Faculty of Informatics on the East Campus;
- the entrance hall of Palazzo Canavée on the Mendrisio Campus.
The "Equality box" is not a tool for collecting reports of particularly sensitive cases, which should instead be addressed to the Equal Opportunities Service, [email protected].
More information on the campaign can be found by contacting the Equal Opportunities Service or by visiting the following pages:
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