The CWC works to increase awareness of the impact of the social construction of gender on the lives of women and men. Our work calls attention to the myriad ways that gender defines our lives. Gender influences how we perceive ourselves and how we interact with others, and impacts everything from interpersonal relationships to workplace environments and campus climate.

Most significantly, gender-particularly as it intersects with other identity markers-organizes our lives and helps determine who is granted power and privilege in society. Our programs and advocacy work seek to raise awareness of the very real consequences that result from socially created roles and expectations and, ultimately, to encourage the social and political change necessary to achieve gender equity.

We regularly schedule films, lectures, performances, and other events designed to foster dialogue about the constraints of culturally constructed ideals of masculinity and femininity. The CWC Media Matters series offers workshops encouraging critical analysis of the role of media in producing and reinforcing popular ideals about gender, race, and sexuality.

Our approach to interpersonal violence prevention emphasizes an understanding of gender socialization and gender stereotypes-and the need to transform our culture and gender norms-in the quest to end violence against women. The CWC is also an active participant in both M@C and WELL, the men's and women's living and learning communities on campus, which focus on gender issues.

The Center is a key partner on both campus and community task forces working to coordinate antiviolence education and awareness effortsc. In partnership with the Dean of Students Office and the Duke Women's Center, the Center organizes HAVEN, a program which trains faculty, staff, and students at UNC and Duke to become informed allies for students who have been affected by sexual and relationship violence.

The Project SAFE web site, designed by the Carolina Women's Center, provides online access to UNC resources regarding sexual assault and domestic violence. Twice weekly the CWC provides space for the Orange County Rape Crisis Center volunteer hotline. We plan frequent programs and events focusing on sexual assault and relationship violence throughout the year and periodically provide self-defense classes on campus.

Annual events include programs for Domestic Violence Awareness Month with the Family Violence Prevention Center in October, Take Back the Night in partnership with Project Dinah in March, and programs for Sexual Assault Awareness Month with OCRCC in April.

The CWC is engaged in policy and advocacy work on behalf of all families at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Center is a member of the Chancellor's Child Care Advisory Committee, which works to expand access to affordable and convenient child care. We work for equitable parental leave policies without barriers for all University employees.

The Center also houses one of the lactation rooms on campus (Download Map) for nursing mothers and is a member of the Faculty Working Group on Infant and Young Child Feeding. In addition, the CWC hosts a support group for pregnant and parenting students, organizes a "Parents' Day Out" event once per semester, and helps publish a resource guide for student parents.

The Center works to advance the University's diversity goals by contributing educational programming and training on diversity issues, helping to create and sustain a climate in which respectful discussions of diversity are encouraged, and creating opportunities for interaction and cross-group learning.

The CWC is a member of the Office of Multicultural Affairs Diversity Education Team and the Provost's Committee on LGBTQ Life, as well as the MLK Celebration Committee, the Cultural Heritage and Celebrations Committee, and the Global Education Center's Global Cultural Programming Committee.

The Center hosts several networking and support groups, including Sister Circle, a group for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty of color, and Connections, a support group for LGBTQ faculty and staff. Ongoing programs such as GendeRace and Sites of Struggle bring to campus speakers who focus on the intersections of race, class, and gender.

The Center also sponsors diversity-related programs each month in partnership with student organizations, academic departments, and other centers and institutes on campus.

Sex Trafficking: Online Resources

• NC Human Trafficking Task Force Manual
• NC Stop Human Trafficking
• 2008 Conference: Combating Sex Trafficking
• 2006 Conference Proceedings

The CWC's impact on Sex Trafficking

Every year an estimated 800,000 individuals are trafficked worldwide across international borders and victimized through forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Of the nearly 20,000 victims who enter the United States, approximately a quarter arrive in the southeast, including North Carolina.

The Carolina Women's Center works toward eradicating sex trafficking in the state and worldwide through our policy and advocacy efforts. The Center helps to generate research and knowledge about trafficking practices. We raise awareness, both on campus and in the community, about the human rights violations trafficking causes, including the mental and physical effects on its victims and the impact on communities.

The Center is a member of two state-wide anti-trafficking coalitions: RIPPLE: The NC Human Trafficking Task Force, comprised of direct service providers, law enforcement, policy and legislative advocates; and NC Stop Human Trafficking, the focal point for individual and community group advocacy and activism. In addition, the CWC has hosted two international conferences and an undergraduate conference devoted to this issue.