Let us renew our commitment to stand up and speak out.
March 19, 2019
New Zealand has been shaken by the tragedy in Christchurch. Our hearts go out to the families, friends and colleagues of those who have been hurt and to the many White Ribbon Ambassadors who are connected to the Muslim Community in New Zealand. You can donate to the families here.
Hate has no place in our country and our Prime Minister has categorically stated, this is not us.
It is my strong belief that many in our country will focus their attention on ensuring that the views that helped to fuel the murders are rejected publicly, and often.
While White Ribbon focuses on a different kind of violence, namely men’s violence towards women, this horrific event should remind us that allowing the extreme views of a minority to go unchallenged creates the opportunity for violence.
Sometimes we conflate freedom of speech and hate speech. Sometimes we don’t call out those who signal their despicable views because they are written on a t-shirt, hidden within jokes, within the lyrics of a song, in the images of a music video, or are simply part of the patriarchy that has been accepted for generations.
Words and actions matter, but so too does inaction. Not speaking to our young men about Respectful Relationships or Respectful Sexual Relationships allows others to fill in the gaps. It enables porn to become an educator and young men like the Rape Busters crew to exist and flourish.
So in the wake of this tragedy let us renew our commitment to stand up and speak out. For more information on how you can do this check out these Eight Actions That Can Reduce Violence.
Rob McCann
White Ribbon Manager
Listening and believing women.
Reflecting on and changing your behaviour.
Disrupting other men’s violence towards women.
Treating women as equals.
Choose how to be a man and how you will act.
Talk to a young man about breaking out of the ‘Man Box’.
Think about what media you watch
Talk with young men about respectful relationships and pornography.
Help us to take the next steps in your community by:
1. Nominating someone to become a White Ribbon Ambassador in your community. The form is here and it’s easy to nominate someone. Contact us to discuss if you have any questions. More information is here.
2. Getting a local business involved in violence prevention by undertaking White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation. More information here. Contact White Ribbon to discuss here.
3. Getting a Youth Ambassador Scheme up and running in your local schools. More info here or download the PDF. Contact us to discuss.
To read the full March Newsletter click here.
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