History of the White Ribbon Campaign

Three sisters – Patria, Maria Teresa and Minerva Mirabel (political activists in the Dominican Republic) were assassinated in a ’car accident’. They were killed for their involvement in efforts to overthrow the fascist government of Rafael Trujillo. The Mirabel sisters quickly became symbols of dignity and inspiration. Their lives raised the spirits of all those they encountered and later, after their death, not only those in the Dominican Republic but others around the world.

July 1981
Women from across Latin America came together in Columbia. Appalled by the extent and diversity of violence against women, they agreed to hold an annual day of protest, and they decided to adopt 25th November as the date for this International Day Against Violence Against Women in memory of the Mirabel sisters.

1991
The first White Ribbon Campaign was launched by a group of men in Canada after the brutal mass shooting of 14 female students at the University of Montreal.

1996
In South Africa the National Network on Violence Against Women launched their own White Ribbon Campaign and many South African women’s groups quickly adopted the White Ribbon symbol.

1998
WOMANKIND launched the first White Ribbon Day in the UK.

1999
The UN officially recognised 25th November as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The White Ribbon is a symbol of hope for a world where women and girls can live free from the fear of violence. Wearing the ribbon is about challenging the acceptability of violence – by getting men involved, helping women to break the silence, and encouraging everyone to come together to build a better world for all.

2004
White Ribbon Campaign UK working to involve men in opposing violence against women is set up to co-operate with work done by Womankind Worldwide. White Ribbon Campaign UK website is launched

2005
White Ribbon Campaign UK organization grows and develops wider campaigns.

An archive of old news stories is available

Annual reports 2006 to 2009 are avialbale from the office and will be downloadable soon.

2009

Scotland White Ribbon Campaign appoints its first fulltime worker

2010

Wales White Ribbon Campaign planning to set up independently in November


 

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LATEST

Cheshire West and Chester Council awarded White Ribbon Partnership Award

COUNCIL AWARDED WHITE RIBBON PARTNERSHIP AWARD

A press release from Cheshire West and Cheshire Council reads:

Cheshire West and Chester Council has been awarded the nationally recognised White Ribbon Partnership Award from the White Ribbon Campaign UK for its multi-agency partnership approach to tackling domestic abuse.

Working in partnership with public, private, community, voluntary and faith sectors the award was granted to the authoritys Cheshire West Together project for its approach to increasing awareness of domestic abuse and support to families affected by domestic abuse.

Pledges now accepted via text messaging!

In the spirit of embracing new technologies,  a new development is that you can now Pledge by text. To do so, Text wrc to 78866

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FACTS


In a survey for Amnesty International in  the UK, over 1 in 4 respondents  thought a women was partially or totally responsible for being raped if she was wearing sexy or revealing clothing, and more than 1 in 5 held the same view if a woman had had many sexual partners.

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