Karma Nirvana have also created a free communications toolkit with factsheets and resources designed to help #ShineTheSpotlight on Honour Based Abuse

The aim of the members of the Us Too project is to help others learn from their experiences, develop awareness of what a good or bad relationship looks like and have a happy life.

Lockdown will have an impact on all of us, let’s work to make it a positive one.

A personal perspective from Kay Wesley, Congleton Town Councillor and White Ribbon Champion

The 8 June 2020 will mark eight years since the UK signed the Istanbul Convention – the gold standard approach to tackling violence against women at a national level.

The government has not yet ratified the Istanbul Convention – and until it does, the Convention is not legally binding. This is stopping important steps to tackle violence against women.

White Ribbon UK unequivocally stands in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement against racism, oppression and inequality.

There has never been a more pressing time for men to act as positive role models.

Covid-19 is an ongoing pandemic, as is violence against women and girls. We have a unique opportunity to address this through taking time to upskill ourselves in responding with care to disclosures of sexual violence, and better planning and policies in our pubs, clubs and venues when they do reopen. Let’s use this difficult time to explore, learn and plan for the future.

Whilst the statistics suggest that the stresses of the current situation are affecting some men’s behaviour for the worse, we must continue to communicate to all men that there is #NoExcuseForAbuse

There is an urgent need for gender analysis of government measures related to COVID-19, and the impact these have on different social groups. There must also be a dramatic increase in funding for services to help those at risk of domestic and sexual abuse.

I ask myself, “Why didn’t I notice that stuff?”.  The answer is, of course, because it’s in my culture. And it’s in deep. It’s the “norm” and it’s “acceptable”, even now in 2020.

With calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline increasing by 25% during lockdown, White Ribbon UK, is calling on all men to take responsibility for their behaviour as well as influence their friends.

It’s hard to find any silver lining in the Covid-19 pandemic which is affecting so many people in the UK and the rest of the world, but one glimmer might be that it’s shaking up our ’normal’ view of the world; encouraging us to reflect on many things that we’d prefer not to think about and bringing home the reality that we live in a very fragile and interdependent world.

For the last few years White Ribbon UK has gone quiet on International Women’s Day. This is to ensure that as an organisation we are listening to the voices of women and we have asked all men to do the same. There is much that requires careful listening.

Throughout February, in memory of Sarah Henshaw, 18 White Ribbon fundraisers have been braving the cold and stormy weather, and working towards their challenge of running, walking, jogging, cycling or swimming 40 miles each to raise money, and awareness of, White Ribbon UK.

Today, Friday, the man guilty of the murder of Grace Millane, in New Zealand in December 2018, has finally been sentenced to life.

So-called ‘honour’-based violence (HBV) is a form of domestic abuse which revolves around the concept of dishonour. Victims of HBV are usually targeted because they are perceived to bring some sort of shame or dishonour to the perpetrator (most often a partner or close family member) and their community.

I first became involved with White Ribbon UK in May 2019 following the murder of my closest friend Sarah, whose life was brutally taken in the February. Sarah was a bright, caring and beautiful friend, she cared about everyone, she worked as a Social Worker and was exceptional in all she did. Sarah worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the children she worked with.