Chung-Ang University (CAU)'s Gender Equality Committee is an organization affiliated with the Student Council, established for the purpose of responding to sexual violence on campus and fostering a culture of gender equality. In 2014, CAU Girls' Student Associationwas abolished at the Student Representatives' Meeting. After that, Gender Equality Committee was established with the resolution and approval of the 34^th Central Committee to act as a special autonomous body of the Student Council. The Gender Equality Committee of CAU was abolished on

October 8^th. Then, on November 2^nd, all members of the Gender Equality Committee held a joint action on the Chung-Ang stairway under the theme of ”Backlash in the University[1].” They held red roses, symbolizing equal rights of women and men, and held the rally under the slogan, “The abolition of CAU’s gender equality committee is a disaster for the student society.” After examining the process through which the Gender Equality Committee was abolished and whether there was any injustice in the process, let's find out with CAH how to draw the direction of gender equality in the school in the future.

1. The Abolition of Gender Equality Committee

a. The Process of Abolition

The start of the case was a post related to the signature of the abolition of the Gender Equality Committee on September 20^th, on Everytime, an anonymous university community site. This post, which called for a signature on the abolition of CAU’s Gender Equality Committee, said that "The gender equality committee is operating based on feminism, and is being operated with a biased direction that only considers a specific gender." and 406 people signed it. Subsequently, on October 8^th, the agenda for the abolition of the Gender Equality Committee was proposed at the Student Council Expansion Operation[2] Committee, which was held to report the agenda and collect opinions. As a result of the approval of 59 out of 101 attendees who attended the meeting, it was ultimately decided to abolish the committee. After this decision, the opinion that alternatives such as the Student Minority Human Rights Committee should be prepared, and the establishment of an alternative organization, were proposed. However, it was rejected as a topic for the agenda. The conflict between the students who opposed the decision and the students who supported it was again revealed both inside and outside the campus. In addition, as students pointed out various problems during the meeting and voting process of the Expansion Operation Committee, it naturally became a hot issue for the whole school.

b. Several Problems Raised Toward the Abolition Process

After the Gender Equality Committee was abolished, several problems regarding the process arose. First, former Gender Equality Committee Chairman Song Ji-hyun pointed out that the voice of the Gender Equality Committee Chairman was rejected by voting. In fact, at the meeting, Gender Equality Committee Chairman Song’s right to speak was rejected through the vote. However, the Student Council countered that this was not an arbitrary decision, but a decision made by collecting the opinions of student representatives. However, this explanation lacks in determining the right to speak on the existence and abolition of a legal organization. Second, Kim Min-ji, chairman of the Human Rights Committee of CAU College of Humanities, voiced criticism for it, saying, "I want to ask the student council why the committee should be abolished with the opinion of 59 out of 20,000 students enrolled in Chung-Ang University." In response, the Student Council reiterated that the matter was decided by a majority vote by the number of people attending the meeting and that there are no problems in accordance with the bylaws. Third, the person who first proposed the abolition of the Gender Equality Committee did not attend the Expansion Steering Committee due to personal threats. In other words, the proposer of the agenda did not attend the meeting to vote on the issue, and the president of the student body read it instead. Therefore, students were not able to ask detailed questions about the background and purpose of the proposal or follow-up actions to the person who initiated the proposal. It is regrettable that the voting proceeded without explaining the agenda properly because it was hidden behind anonymity. It is obvious that these kinds of issues should be considered with great caution and enough discussion that gradually leads to a good decision. The Gender Equality Committee, where the initiator came up with the agenda, said at the 3^rd quarter meeting of the student council held on October 29^th, "Is it reasonable to provide the initiator with an unlimited voice that no elected representative other than the chairperson has by reading the comments of the anonymous proponent?" There are still many questions raised about the process of the abolition of the Committee. For example, the former Gender Equality Committee raised issues through the Gender Equality Committee's social media, such as not having a discussion among the panels during the decision-making process and rejecting all amendments related to follow-up measures without deliberation was also doubted.

2. Directions for Gender Equality at CAU after Abolition and Conflicts around the Continuation of Original Business Operations

The existing Gender Equality Committee's work can be divided into three main tasks. Cervical cancer vaccination partnership business, blood purification (menstrual) supply business, and operation of a sexual assault reporting window. In the case of the HPV vaccine Gardasil inoculation discount campaign, the Gender Equality Committee affiliated with Sangdo-eun Medical Clinic, so that all CAU students and faculty could get it at a discounted price. Gardasil injection is a vaccination that anyone can receive to help prevent cervical cancer in women regardless of gender. However, in the case of the blood purification product supply project, there is an opinion that the project is somewhat biased towards women in that the supplies purchased with the student union fee paid by students are used only on female classmates, which was included the original petition posted on Everytime. To operate a project that has no disagreement among students, it is necessary to decide whether to proceed with the project or to revise and supplement it through public hearings or gathering opinions. Now, everyone acknowledges that we were not able to have the opportunity to hold a public hearing where the abolition of the Gender Equality Committee took place, and the same incident should not be repeated in student business.

The Student Council has announced that it will transfer most of the work previously carried out by the Gender Equality Committee to the Student Council. Although the former Gender Equality Committee is no longer a formal organization, they still need to have a proper and direct communication to run the counseling window. In addition, one of the duties of the existing Gender Equality Committee was to ‘respond to cases of sexual violence in school.’ Currently, the Student Council has formed a temporary task force and plans to separately notify the sexual violence reporting window. It said that discussions are underway to establish the process for smooth operation. However, the Gender Equality Committee stated that it could not hand over “Like Us,” the previously operated window for reporting cases of sexual violence to the Student Council. For a better environment for the students of CAU, the student-to-student sexual violence counseling organization, which was conducted by the Gender Equality Committee, should be handed over to the Student Council and operated normally.

In the end, the Gender Equality Committee was abolished, and opinions about the inadequacy in the process were raised several times. All members of the Gender Equality Committee and members of the Student Council should be able to take over their duties with accurate communication being held. CAH hopes that the student council and students will work together to fill the vacancy in the Gender Equality Committee so that every member of the school can actively participate and make efforts to achieve gender equality in the school.