Nominated by MISSives Guest Editor, Rachel Williamson
Sophie Aboud is someone I’ve looked up to since we attended the same residential college at university. She’s a proud intersectional feminist and activist in the sexual violence prevention space. Sophie is on the Board of the STOP Campaign, an incredible initiative dedicated to empowering young people to create and sustain positive change regarding sex and sexual violence, by starting conversations and breaking down stigmas.
Australian universities have done far too little to address sexual harassment and assault on campuses. Sophie has done some very important work to address the issue, including researching and writing the Safe Response Toolkit, a resource for survivors of sexual violence in the ACT. She’s currently leading educational workshops at universities across the ACT about sexual violence, destigmatisation, and empowerment – workshops which are a lot more useful than what has traditionally been provided by university administration!
Sophie has been an inspiration to me and was recognised for all of her amazing work by being chosen as the ACT Young Woman of the Year for 2023.
