White Ribbon Day - let’s #ChangetheStory for women and girls
This White Ribbon Day Kingston Council is pledging its continuing support to the campaign to end male violence against women and girls (VAWG).
It’s just over two years since the council achieved White Ribbon accreditation, with a plan to empower its staff to play their part in ending violence against women and girls. The organisation now has a team of male White Ribbon Ambassadors who act as advocates to raise awareness of the issue within the council and local community.
On November 25 we celebrated White Ribbon Day 2023, marking the beginning of the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign. This year’s theme is #ChangeTheStory.
Kingston is one of the safest boroughs in London, and the council is committed to working with partners and communities to make it even fairer and safer for everyone. Kingston Council has been working hard to raise awareness of actions we can all take to challenge unacceptable behaviours through initiatives such as its active bystander training, which highlights the role everyone can play in calling out violent or unacceptable behaviour.
Over 20 sessions have been delivered to organisations, community groups, professionals and residents in the past 8 months, training to almost 500 people.
At the South West London Safer Streets conference earlier this year the borough launched its Women’s Night Safety Charter to support women to feel safer when out in the borough in the evening.
The conference also saw the launch of the #StepUpSWLondon campaign to encourage men and boys to take an active stand against unacceptable behaviour towards women and girls. The campaign included approaching businesses with five different ways to step up against violence against women and girls.
Kingston Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Public Health, Cllr Sabeh Hamed said:
“This White Ribbon Day we continue with our pledge to raise awareness, provide support and tackle violence against women and girls.
“Kingston is one of the safest boroughs in London and we are committed to making it even safer, working in partnership with organisations and communities across the borough.”
As part of the council’s continued work to combat the issue and change the story for women and girls, it is delivering a day of workshops to empower and educate residents and professionalson preventing violence against women and girls on 30 November. The sessions will include inspiring young people to change the culture, a workshop for parents, guardians and teachers and domestic abuse awareness and empowerment session.
White Ribbon Day is a widely recognised global movement organised by White Ribbon UK, the leading charity engaging with men and boys to end violence against women and girls (VAWG).
You can sign up for the White Ribbon Promise here.
You can also watch this short video explaining more about what violent behaviours are and how we can step up to challenge unacceptable behaviour in a safe and confident way.