On White Ribbon Day, 25 November, and throughout the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, we're encouraging people to become allies for women and girls.
The campaign launches with #ItStartsWithMen highlighting that we can all be advocates for women and girls, so they may live their lives free from the fear of men’s violence and unwanted attention.
Hertfordshire is considered a safe county, but nowhere is immune to this challenge.
- Seventy per cent of women in the UK say they have experienced sexual harassment in public. (APPG for UN Women, 2021)
- Three in five women have experienced sexual harassment, bullying or verbal abuse in the workplace. (Trade Unions Congress, 2023)
- Fifteen per cent of women in England, and 17% of women in Wales have experienced online violence. (Professor Olga Jurasz, The Open University, 2024)
- Nearly a quarter (24%) of girls in mixed sex schools said they had experiences of unwanted sexual touching in school. (EVAW, 2023)
- 1.4 million women experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2023. (ONS, 2023)
Cllr Christian Gray, Portfolio Holder for Communities, Neighbourhoods, Enforcement, Economic Development and Transformation, said: "The statistics around violence towards women and girls is horrifying, but together we can make a difference. As a man, I believe we should call out and challenge negative behaviour, set an example to young men and support women and girls by being an ally to address the abuse and violence they are facing.
“I am encouraging men to hold themselves accountable to women and to each other, so we can affect positive behaviour change to transform harmful cultures. Starting with men, we must address the attitudes and behaviours that contribute to a fear of violence for women in our borough.”
Member Champion for addressing violence against women and girls, Cllr Louise Nicolas, said: "As a council, we want to proactively address these issues by working closely with communities, partner agencies and local organisations to raise awareness of the issues, support victims as well as educate men and young boys about the consequences of certain behaviours and attitudes.
“We can end violence against women and girls together but we can’t do that without your support. It takes us all to act to create change.”
Hear from our portfolio holder, member champion and leaders of the three political parties in our video: White Ribbon Day 2024 - YouTube
To access support agencies, please visit www.hertsmere.gov.uk/domesticviolence
