The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (November 25th- December 10th ) is a United Nations campaign to raise awareness of the negative impact that violence and abuse have on women and children and to rid society of abuse permanently.
During the 16 days period, government together with civil society and the private sector will host a series of community and sector dialogues and activities to foster a collaborative effort.
The theme for this year is UNITE Activism to end violence against women and girls.
Royal Greenwich will be hosting a variety of events throughout the 16 days both internally and within our communities.
Royal Greenwich has been granted White Ribbon accreditation this year, White Ribbon is the commitment to engaging with men and boys locally to help end gender based violence.
The White Ribbon campaign was first initiated by a group of men in Canada and is now used to raise awareness of domestic abuse around the world. The campaign encourages men to wear a white ribbon as a pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls.
Shocking statistics in UK show that in the past 10 years out of all killings, more than 9 in 10 killers were men. As well as this over the past year out of the total number of rapes, 98.5% of the rapists were identified as men. This highlights the importance of the White Ribbon Campaign.
As a borough it is vital that we lead by example, come together, educate staff and speak out against male violence which has come into even more focus after the horrific deaths of Sarah Everard and more locally Sabina Nessa alongside the sad fact that that last year alone, 207 women were killed.
Violence against women and girls will affect many of those in the teaching profession, and many pupils and students greatly impacting on their participation, learning and achievement. The 16 days of activism provides a great springboard and platform for raising awareness, and educating children and young people on healthy relationships, consent and gender equality, which are all key measures to preventing violence against women and girls.
Please find the details of how to sign up to White Ribbon here:
sign up to White Ribbon Champions and Ambassadors. This is a fairly short and easy process that takes about 5 minutes. The link to sign up can be found here, and more information about being a Champion or Ambassador can be found on those links.
