25 November is White Ribbon Day, a time to raise awareness about preventing gender-based violence.
whITE ribbon day
We campaign to prevent violence against women and girls by encouraging active allyship from men and boys.
White Ribbon Day, 25th November, is annually recognised as the day men show their year-long commitment to ending violence against women and girls.
The day inspires individuals and organisations to take positive action to challenge harmful cultures and behaviours that lead to violence against women and girls. White Ribbon Accredited and Supporter Organisations and White Ribbon Ambassadors and Champions are vital in driving this culture change.
Every year, White Ribbon UK works around a theme to raise awareness about men’s violence against women and girls and the need for men to be part of the solution as active allies.
For White Ribbon Day, 25 November 2024, It Starts with Men.
Together we can prevent violence against women and girls. It starts with me. It starts with men.
It starts with men is the theme for White Ribbon Day 2024. Violence against women and girls is rooted in harmful masculine traits. Starting with men, we must address the attitudes and behaviours that contribute to a fear of violence for women in their day-to-day lives.
This White Ribbon Day, Monday, 25 November, we’re encouraging men to hold themselves accountable to women and to each other, so we can affect positive behaviour change to transform harmful cultures. Gender equality is key to making this culture change happen. Gender equality is achievable if men and boys understand and assume their responsibility as allies.
We can prevent violence against women and girls. It starts with me. It starts with men.
You can find out how to support on the It Starts with Men homepage now.
Previous campaigns
In 2023, we campaigned to #ChangeTheStory for women and girls by encouraging men and boys to be active allies in every aspect of their lives: at home, at school, at work and with their mates.
Violence against women and girls is not a women’s issue. We need men to #ChangeTheStory, every day.
White Ribbon Day 2022 coincided with the start of the Men’s World Cup. This campaign highlighted the need for greater allyship in male-dominated spaces, like football, so women can feel safe and included.
We encouraged men and boys to embrace 11 traits, one for each player on a football team.
It’s not all men, but all men can end violence against women and girls. In 2021, we mobilised our diverse network of organisations and Ambassadors and Champions to empower men to stand up to every day sexism and misogyny.
Simply being nonviolent isn’t enough; we need men to be part of the solution.
About White Ribbon Day
If violence against women is to be eliminated, it’s essential that men become part of the solution for change.
The White Ribbon movement began in 1991 to engage men in the prevention of gender-based violence. At the time, there was very little work being done to engage men in this issue; violence against women and girls was framed as a women’s issue. White Ribbon was founded to address the root cases of men’s violence against women and girls: harmful masculine traits and social norms around what it means to “be a man.”
From its beginnings, White Ribbon joined with others around the world to raise awareness about this issue annually on the 25 November and was one of the voices that campaigned for UN recognition of the day. In 2000, White Ribbon Day was designated The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations.
White Ribbon Day continues every year to draw attention to the importance of active allyship from men to end violence against women and girls, once and for all.