16 Days of Action to end violence against women and girls

Organisations across Bury took part in the global White Ribbon campaign to put a stop to male violence against women and girls.

The campaign aims to recruit men from all walks of life, young and old, to come forward, stand up and speak out.

Services in Bury shared this message in communities throughout the official 16 days of action running between 25 November (UN International Day of elimination of violence towards women) and 10 December (Human Rights Day).

They did this through fundraising, donating to the White Ribbon Campaign,cake selling, a range of workshops about domestic violence and abuse, wearing white ribbons, signing pledges, hosting coffee mornings, distributing leaflets and most importantly talking about Domestic Violence and Abuse.

Additionally, 35 members of the public (20 of which were men) signed pledges to never commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence towards women with a view to becoming White Ribbon ambassadors.

Each day a theme explored the different strands of domestic violence and a workshop held for voluntary sector and partner organisations to help them support to victims of domestic abuse and their families.

Councillor Tamoor Tariq, cabinet member for communities and safer neighbourhoods, said: “These 16 days of action helped to improve the awareness of domestic abuse among the public, provide hope to women who are suffering, encourage ways to bring the perpetrators to account, and raise money for a good cause.

“Men and boys have a crucial role to play in creating a culture where male violence, abuse and harassment against women and girls are simply seen as unacceptable. We support them to take a stand against gender violence in their workplaces, schools, communities and families.”

The campaign recruits all year round. For more details on how to apply to become an ambassador, go to www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk

ENDS

Press release issued: 12 December 2017.

Picture: At the fund-raising cake sale on Bury Market are (front) Cllr Rishi Shori, leader of Bury Council, and Pat Jones-Greenhalgh, interim council chief executive, with (back) markets manager Andrew Heyes and Cllr Tamoor Tariq.