Pronouns: She/her
Irene Zeilinger is a sociologist and feminist self-defence trainer with more than 30 years of experience in the field under her belt. She is the founder, former executive director and current international affairs officer at Garance ASBL, a Belgian feminist NGO combating gender-based violence by the means of primary prevention. Irene has taught thousands of women, girls and professionals across Europe on how to prevent violence and protect themselves from it. She is also at the forefront of feminist advocacy against violence in Belgium, has participated in the writing of the shadow report on Belgium’s failure to apply the Istanbul Convention and sits on the advisory board overseeing the implementation of the Belgian francophone action plan to combat violence against women.