Following the success of #TheGoal, White Ribbon UK looks forward to expanding its primary prevention programme and building upon the incredible work started in the transport sector to ensure the safety and success of women working in rail and women passengers.

By White Ribbon UK

In the three months since White Ribbon Day, White Ribbon UK has hosted an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s Safety in Public Transport, is recruiting for three new roles to support our growth, and has developed an even more ambitious primary prevention programme for 2023.

#TheGoal, which focused on addressing harmful behaviours around football matches, wrapped up in a meeting with senior leadership and members of the government at the start of February to pick up on commitments made during White Ribbon Day 2022.

Leaders in the rail industry and partners sent a clear message to the entire transport sector by gathering on White Ribbon Day to determine actions the whole industry can take to support the women on their teams and those using their services.

On February 8th, ministers heard presentations from British Transport Police, West Midlands Trains and HerGameToo, a volunteer-led organisation aiming to make match days more accessible and inclusive. Participants discussed the impact of men’s behaviour on public transport, opportunities for the transport sector to make a difference, and the responsibilities of policymakers to support culture change.

“In a controlled environment, travelling to games can be a really fun experience. There’s also the opposite scenario which is much more hostile,” explained Eve Ralph, cofounder of HerGameToo.

“Women should feel supported whether travelling alone or in a group.”

As the Secretariat for this APPG, White Ribbon UK will continue to support the transport sector and government with this important work.

“We’re using the momentum of this collaboration to continue to focus on addressing harmful behaviours. White Ribbon can play an import role in helping our industry tackle these issues,” said Jonny Wiseman, the Customer Experience Director at West Midlands Trains.

Looking to this year, the White Ribbon UK team spent a week at the end of January planning activities to support the organisation’s focus on furthering our primary prevention efforts and looking at how we work with children and youth for 2023.

To support this exciting programme and to build on the work around #TheGoal last year, our team is expanding to include three new positions: a Training Development Officer to deliver more learning resources for our partners, a Campaigns Assistant to support new developments in our policy and awareness-raising work, and an Office Administrator to assist our growing team.

There is still much to be done to ensure women are safe and can live free from the fear of violence, and there is a lot you can do to support this. We’re looking forward to working together in 2023 to get closer to #TheGoal.