Men from across the borough’s communities joined together for White Ribbon Day this week to speak out about the role that men need to play in preventing violence against women and girls.

In a video shared on social media, local men declared in a number of community languages their commitment to being an ally to women and girls.

What is White Ribbon Day?

The video was launched to mark White Ribbon Day, and the white ribbon is the globally recognised symbol to end men’s violence against women and girls. Since the inception of the white ribbon movement 35 years ago in Canada, the white ribbon has become an important symbol in the fight to end gender-based violence.

Allyship is a central message of the white ribbon; it represents men taking responsibility to challenge this issue and being allies, every day, to stop violence against women and girls before it starts.

Ealing Council leader, Peter Mason, said: “It starts with me, it starts with men. We need to do our part every day to change our culture, so that women can live free from the fear of harassment, abuse or violence they face. Ending male violence against women and girls is a priority.”

Get involved

White Ribbon Day sees the start of a series of activities across the borough led by the Safer Ealing Partnership as part of the global 16 days of activism on gender-based violence, which runs every year from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to 10 December, Human Rights Day.

This year, there is a calendar of events going on across the borough with workshops, in person advice, stalls and talks in collaboration with ForwardUK, Advance, Southall Black Sisters, CGL, Galop, EHCVS, Let’s Go Southall, Southall Community Alliance, the Police and council services.

Take a look at the calendar of events on the Safer Ealing website, sign up and take part. The calendar will be updated with further details and events.