East Cambridgeshire District Council have been recognised for their work on challenging violence against women and awarded White Ribbon status by the renowned national charity. 

 

White Ribbon, whose mission is to end male violence against women, work with men and boys to challenge male cultures that lead to harassment and abuse. White Ribbon invites men and women alike to take the White Ribbon pledge and become an ambassador or a champion.

 

East Cambridgeshire District Council have shown their support by producing a dedicated action plan which involves implementing a domestic abuse policy for all staff employed by the council, as well as engaging with local businesses to inform men about White Ribbon. Work is already underway and will be taking place over the next year. 

 

Neighbourhood Support Officer Shona McKenzie, who has been leading the campaign, said: “Every organisation in the UK should get on board and support White Ribbon. 

 

“It is a fantastic campaign which recognises the elephant in the room that is domestic abuse. By having our accreditation, the council is taking even more steps to keep women safe from abuse and educating men and boys across the district.

We understand that this is just one of the ways in which we need to support and recognise domestic abuse, which can happen and affect anyone.”

 

White Ribbon report that according to 2017 crime figures from the Crown Prosecution Service, six out of seven victims of domestic violence are women.

 

Upon receiving the accreditation, White Ribbon said of East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC): “[ECDC] have clearly undertaken a big commitment in engaging with the campaign and have completed a significant amount of work – with more actions to come in the future.”

 

At present East Cambridgeshire District Council are one of 86 organisations to have pledged to back White Ribbon UK. 

 

For more information on domestic violence in the district, please visit our page on the website: https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/crime/domestic-violence