White Ribbon Campaign

White Ribbon Campaign
Abbreviation WRC
Motto Men Working to End Men's Violence against Women
Formation November 1991 (November 1991)
Founder Jack Layton, Ron Sluser, Michael Kaufman[1]
Type Non-profit
Purpose Ending violence against women
Executive Director
 Humberto Carolo
Jeff Feiner (Chair), Nicole Lichowit (Vice-Chair), Vipin Rikhi (Treasurer), Chris Langdon (Secretary), Kelly Davis, Mary Pompili, Ainsworth Morgan, Sheamus Murphy, Joel Marans, Louie Surdi
Website whiteribbon.ca

The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls. It was formed by a group of pro-feminist men in London, Ontario in November 1991 as a response to the École Polytechnique massacre of female students by Marc Lépine in 1989. The campaign was intended to raise awareness about the prevalence of male violence against women, with the ribbon symbolizing "the idea of men giving up their arms."[2][3][4] Active in over 60 countries, the movement seeks to promote healthy relationships, gender equity, and a compassionate vision of masculinity.[5]

History

Much of their work centres around gender violence prevention which includes educating and mentoring young men about issues such as violence and gender equality. Men and boys are encouraged to wear white ribbons as a symbol of their opposition to violence against women. They are particularly encouraged to wear these during White Ribbon week which starts on November the 25th which is the UN Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.[5]

The White Ribbon Campaign is active in over 60 nations across the world including Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Italy and the UK.

In 2018 for Australia, the day was moved from 25 November to 23 November to become a specific campaign day separate to the international day, and expanded to encompass violence against children.[6] Businesses are able to attain a 'white ribbon accredited workplace'.[7]

Whiteribbon.org

In 2014 the men's rights activist organisation A Voice for Men launched whiteribbon.org as a counter to the White Ribbon campaign,[8][9] adopting graphics and language from White Ribbon.[10] It is owned by Erin Pizzey and has the slogan "Stop Violence Against Everyone".[11] Accused of "hijacking" White Ribbon,[12] the site was harshly criticized by Todd Minerson, the former executive director of The White Ribbon Campaign, who described it as "a copycat campaign articulating their archaic views and denials about the realities of gender-based violence".[13] The site presents the claim that domestic violence is a learned behaviour from childhood, perpetrated equally by women and men. The website has faced much criticism, being accused of displaying "anti-feminist propaganda".[3]

Criticism

It has been noted while WRC was meant to be a men's peer pressure campaign, the Australian organisation was questioned in 2016 and since as mostly organised by women, much of the funds raised are absorbed into administrative costs, and the day is more slacktivism than producing change.[14][15][16] The organisation denied the criticisms.[17] Research argued White Ribbon Australia's 'failure to articulate the meaning of, both, gender equality and respect is a crucial lack'.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "White Ribbon Campaign: 20 Years Working to End Violence Against Women". michaelkaufman.com. November 24, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Men wearing white ribbons". CBC. November 27, 1991. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
  3. 1 2 Filipovic, Jill (24 October 2014). "Why Is an Anti-Feminist Website Impersonating a Domestic Violence Organization?". Cosmopolitan. Hearst Communications. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Blake, Mariah (January 2015). "Mad Men: Inside the Men's Rights Movement—and the Army of Misogynists and Trolls It Spawned". Mother Jones.
  5. 1 2 "Who We Are". White Ribbon. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "White Ribbon Day 2018 is moving to 23 November". White Ribbon Australia. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Workplace Accreditation Program". White Ribbon Australia. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  8. ↑ Browne, Rachel. (November 4, 2014). "Domestic violence group White Ribbon Australia in domain name dispute", Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  9. ↑ Filipovic, Jill. (October 24, 2014). "Why Is an Anti-Feminist Website Impersonating a Domestic Violence Organization?", Cosmopolitan. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ McDonough, Katie (October 23, 2014). "Men's rights group launches creepy website to co-opt respected anti-violence campaign". Salon.
  11. ↑ About WhiteRibbon.org Archived 2016-07-30 at the Wayback Machine.: WhiteRibbon.org, owned by domestic violence pioneer Erin Pizzey
  12. ↑ Schetzer, Alana. (November 2, 2014). "'Fake' White Ribbon website faces legal action", Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  13. ↑ Minerson, Todd. (October 23, 2014). "White Ribbon Copycat Statement", White Ribbon. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  14. ↑ FUNNELL, Nina (24 November 2016). "10 reasons why I will ignore White Ribbon day". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  15. ↑ ARNDT, Bettina (11 July 2016). "Why you should never give a cent to White Ribbon". Bettina Arndt. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  16. ↑ LANG, Kylie (23 November 2017). "White Ribbon Day is one big, trendy problem". Courier-Mail (Brisbane). Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  17. ↑ LAVOIPIERRE, Angela (25 November 2016). "White Ribbon defends itself against criticism from women's movement". Australian Broadcasting Commission. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  18. ↑ SEYMOUR, Kate (26 July 2017). "'Stand up, speak out and act': A critical reading of Australia's White Ribbon campaign". Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology. 51: 293–310. doi:10.1177/0004865817722187. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
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