How does a hierarchical environment affect our ability to say “no”? And why does the academic environment still lack clear rules of conduct between people that are common in other professions? The Center for Gender and Science, a research department at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, is organising an event on 12 February 2026 on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. In cooperation with the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, leading British expert Dr Anna Bull from the University of York will share practical tools for navigating challenging situations in the academic environment with students and early-career researchers.
Today, the Centre for Gender and Science, Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences started an online campaign focused on building safer universities, advancing professional boundaries, institutional Accountability and Student Empowerment. The main goal of this years’ celebrations is an event entitled Your Right to Safety: Understanding Power, Consent, and Professional Boundaries which will take place on 12 February 2026 at 17:30 p.m on the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. The event will focus on the topic of safety, consent, and professional boundaries in higher education—a topic that is absolutely crucial for building a healthy and safe ecosystem in higher education and research.
Research by Dr Anna Bull, a co-founder of The 1752 Group, points to the profound impact of power abuse and sexualized violence in academic settings. „Those targeted – usually women – often experience post-traumatic symptoms and other deep psychological and emotional impacts, as well as losing confidence, and sometimes even end up dropping out of their studies or changing fields as a result of such experiences,“ says Dr Bull.
While professions such as medicine, psychology, and social work often have clearly defined codes of conduct regarding interpersonal relationships, academia often lags behind. „Universities have an ethical and legal responsibility to ensure a safe environment for study without predatory behaviour,“ says Dr Bull, adding that „where colleges fail in this area, student activism can bring about change. And it does bring about change when it points out the hypocrisy of universities that protect (usually) male academics from women, LGBTQA students, and younger staff.“ This is confirmed by the Czech experience with many cases of gender-based violence, the problematic nature of which has been highlighted by student initiatives.
Practical help, not just theory
The aim of the Prague event is not theoretical discussion, but above all an effort to equip students with specific language and tools to protect their integrity. Bull will share with participants what can help them in specific situations, how to respond to problematic behaviour, and where to find support. “In the Czech Republic, there is still a common belief that universities are simply spaces where adults meet, that power imbalances do not matter, and that anyone can speak up easily. Anna Bull has long worked on issues of boundary-crossing, consent, and professional integrity, and we are very happy that she accepted our invitation. We hope her talk will offer students practical tools to recognise these situations, name them, and respond to them safely,” says Marcela Linková, head of the Centre for Gender and Science.
“It is important that the discussion is taking place at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, an environment where issues of power, inequality, gender, and ethics are systematically considered. The topic of safe borders thus ties in with professional and public debates that have been ongoing at the Faculty of Arts for a long time, and the discussion will connect academic reflection with the very practical experience of students,” adds Petra Poncarová from the Department of Sociology at Charles University, who specializes in gender sociology and, at the Centre for Gender and Science, prepares monitoring reports on the position on the status of women in Czech science.
Dr Anna Bull is a director of The 1752 Group, a research and campaign group addressing sexual misconduct in higher education. In 2021, industry publication Times Higher Education named her as one of their ‘Faces of 2021’, noting that her research ‘has made a substantial contribution to our understanding of the problem’ of sexual harassment in universities. She has published a range of reports, toolkits, and academic and non-academic articles on gender-based violence in higher education and is in international demand as an expert adviser.
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which falls on 11 February, celebrates female researchers and students and highlights the need to ensure that women and minority groups have full and equal access to and participation in research. Although women make up half of the world’s population, they continue to be disproportionately underrepresented in research and often encounter invisible barriers.
„The United Nations has declared ‚from vision to impact‘ as the main theme for this year’s celebration of girls and women in science. We also have a vision that we wish to turn into reality in the Czech academic environment: namely, a vision of a safe academy in which no student or early-career researcher is a victim of toxic behavior, where everyone is able to set boundaries without fear of reprisals, and find support when they need it,“ explains Barbora Těthal Schneiderová, Communication Manager at the Center for Gender and Science.
Commemorating 11 February as International Day of Women and Girls in Science is essential not only to celebrate the achievements of women scientists, but above all to critically reflect on the environment in which they work. True equality, not only in academia, requires more than just motivating girls to study—it requires systemic changes that ensure that universities and research institutions are safe, fair, and inclusive spaces for everyone, without distinction.
Media Contact:
Barbora Těthal Schneiderová
+420 602 340 883
barbora.schneiderova@soc.cas.cz
