White Ribbon Campaign

Did you know that November 25th - December 10th is the day that men show their commitment to stopping violence against women?

The White Ribbon Campaign was originally started by a group of Canadian men in 1991, who decided to make it their responsibility to encourage men to speak out for violence against women; the white ribbon represents their opposition to men's violence against women.

We adopted this campaign in the UK, in 2004.

I have worked within the domestic abuse field for 12 years and my experience and passion in this area, is why some clients are drawn to working with me. What I love about this campaign, is it's focus and involvement of men. Domestic abuse is not gender specific, though statistically, men are the perpetrators of abuse more than women. I have encountered lots of defensive debates around this area, and I get the sense from these, that men aim to separate themselves from the men that do perpetrate. I get this; the extent to which perpetrators of abuse go to is beyond imaginable at times - I wouldn't want to be associate with them either!

This campaign was started by men though, they didn't see it as a 'women's issue' - both genders are involved in the violence against women, men are statistically the perpetrators, therefore it is a societal issue. Furthermore, what about all the little boys that have survived domestic abuse in their childhood - it is an issue for everyone!

The Canadian men didn't try to separate themselves from perpetrators, they wore the ribbon and moved closer to men - they opened conversations about violence against women, the positive roles available to men i.e. as a nurturers and care-givers and their work is entwined in other days such as Father's Day and Valentines Day, where they educate on healthy relationships for example.

Can you share this white ribbon on your social media, to show you are a man against violence against women too?