By invitation, Marie Beaulieu participated in a virtual seminar organised by the Minerva Center on Intersectionality on Ageing at the University of Haifa in Israel (December 2020)

On November 19, 2020, as invited speaker, Marie Beaulieu broached a subject that is still not documented in gerontology’s scientific research, the notion of ‘safe spaces, safe places’ for ‘older women’ living with ‘sexual mistreatment.’

During her presentation, entitled Beyond Stereotypes, Barriers, and Social Construction: An Engaged Scholarly Stance for Promoting Safe Places for Older Women Who Are Sexually Assaulted, she addressed each of the following :

• The gaps in this field of knowledge, the invisibility of the subject matter, the lack of gender perspectives, the intersectionality of gender and assaults of a sexual nature, etc.;
• The best of Canadian and international practices in the context of sexual aggression;
• The fundamental components or ‘safe space, safe place’: definition, aims, values, physical (location) and psychological (relationship of trust) approaches and provisions;
• Limits associated with the deployment of secure spaces and the presence of false friends within them.

If this subject is of interest, stay informed as the participants in this seminar expect to publish a report on their activities.