International Women's Day 2023: A time to listen
This International Women's Day, men and boys can show their allyship by listening. White Ribbon UK encourages all men and boys to commemorate March 8th by taking responsibility, not taking over.
By White Ribbon UK
This Wednesday, March 8th, is International Women’s Day. For women and girls, it’s a day that can represent many things: celebration, reflection, protest, solidarity, remembrance.
Globally, March 8th serves to bring attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence against women. This year the United Nations is focusing on the impact of the digital gender gap on inequalities for women and girls, which is more important than ever with one in five women in the UK having experienced online abuse.
For men, International Women’s Day should be a day for listening and reflecting. March 8th is not about taking over the conversation, it’s about taking responsibility.
As a primary prevention charity working closely with men and boys across the UK, we’re remaining silent – but not absent – this March 8th. We’ll be listening to the campaigns, letters and stories planned across the incredibly active VAWG sector in the UK and encouraging men and boys in our network to do the same.
Why do we do this? Too often women’s experiences of violence aren’t heard or are dismissed. A crucial part of our prevention work is to educate men and boys on the continuum of violence, which explains how sexist and misogynistic attitudes, behaviours and comments create space for extreme instances of violence to occur in our society.
On March 8th, there will be many examples of this, and men and boys should keep in mind that it’s only by radically transforming existing harmful cultures that violence against women and girls can end.
The best thing allies can do this Wednesday is actively listen to the women in their lives, at their workplaces and online.
For those looking to follow-up this time of listening with action, we encourage all men and boys to make the White Ribbon Promise and to consider becoming an Ambassador.
If you’d like to show your support to end online harms towards women and girls, please consider signing EVAW Coalition’s petition for the Online Safety Bill, which is currently passing through the Lords in Parliament, to include measures that would protect women and girls.