26/11/2014 - Permalink

Shrophire men and young people urged to pledge their support to end domestic violence

Related topics: Community / Health

Men and young people across Shropshire are being urged to pledge their support to end domestic violence in the county by signing up to become White Ribbon ambassadors.

The call comes as part of the international campaign launched this week, and continues until Wednesday 10 December 2014.

The White Ribbon Campaign is aimed at encouraging men to take a proactive stance towards eliminating violence, both physically and psychologically, against women and girls.  It is also an opportunity for the non-abusive male majority to pledge to never condone the violence that is perpetrated by a minority of their gender.  Abuse also affects millions of young people across the UK in their relationships with each other or with family.

This year, Shropshire Council is supporting the campaign by asking men and young people to sign up to become White Ribbon ambassadors and White Ribbon youth ambassadors, and take an active stand to support and become positive role models to other men in the county.   As an ambassador, you can provide different levels of support, from wearing a white ribbon and encouraging others to do the same, to hosting meetings, social events and other awareness-raising activities.

Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health, said:

“We want to encourage men and young people in Shropshire across all walks of life, from different communities, backgrounds, groups, professions, to become ambassadors to stand up and say “No” to violence against women.  Please pledge your support and sign up to become an ambassador, and put an end to this unacceptable and terrible act.”

Jo Berry, Shropshire Council’s domestic violence prevention co-ordinator and multi-agency risk assessment conferences co-ordinator, and member of Shropshire’s White Ribbon group, added:

“The White Ribbon Campaign focuses on the belief that change will only occur when men accept their responsibility to make changes.  This is why we need the support of men to get on board and speak out against those who inflict violence on women and children.”

To become a White Ribbon Ambassador visit http://www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk/node/275.  All you need to do is complete a short application.

Shropshire men, women and young people can also to give their pledge and sign up and say no to domestic abuse and sexual violence here: http://www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk/makepledge.

If you’re suffering abuse, there are people who can help you.  Facing up to the fact that you are in an abusive relationship can be hard, but it’s important that you get help as soon as you can.  If you are concerned about domestic abuse and need advice you can call the 24-hour domestic abuse helpline on 0800 783 1359 (Shropshire, Herefordshire, Telford & Wrekin) or the National Helpline 0808 200 0247.

Further information can be found on the Freedom Shropshire website at http://www.freedomshropshire.org.uk.  Freedom Shropshire is designed to enable people who live and work in Shropshire to access relevant and up-to-date information on domestic abuse.

Further information

  • At least 80,000 women suffer rape every year in the UK
  • 45% of UK women have experienced some form of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking
  • Several global surveys suggest that half of all women who die from homicide are killed by their current or former husbands or partners
  • Domestic violence in the UK is estimated to cost victims, services and the state a total of around £23 billion a year
  • Women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria, according to World Bank data.
  • 70% of incidents of domestic violence in the UK result in injury (compared with 50% of incidents of acquaintance violence, 48% of stranger violence and 29% of mugging)
  • At least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime.
  • At least 32% of children, mostly girls, experience some form of child sexual abuse
  • Around 85% of forced marriage victims are women in the UK
  • More than 60 million women are “missing” from the world today as a result of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide (Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate)
  • Two women are killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner (Homicide e Statistics, 1998) – one woman killed every three days
  • 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes and between 6-10% of women suffer domestic violence in a given year (Council of Europe, 2002)
  • Domestic violence has a higher rate of repeat victimisation than any other crime (Home Office, July 2002)
  • Every minute police in the UK receive a domestic assistance call – yet only 35% of domestic violence incidents are reported to the police (Stanko, 2000 & Home Office, 2002)
  • The 2001/02 British Crime Survey (BCS) found that there were an estimated 635,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales.  81% of the victims were women and 19% were men.  Domestic violence incidents also made up nearly 22% of all violent incidents reported by participants in the BCS (Home Office, July 2002)
  • On average, a woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police (Jaffe, 1982)