White Ribbon Campaign
In 1989 a gunman massacred 14 female students at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal after declaring his hatred of feminism and of women. Since then, there have been annual campaigns and events to mark this horrific event and to make a stand against violence against women. It is out of this movement that the White Ribbon Campaign was born in Canada in 1991. It was started by a group of men that felt that they, as men, had a responsibility to speak out against violence against women and to encourage other men to do so too.
In 2004 the White Ribbon Campaign came to the UK. Each year during 16 Days, the White Ribbon Campaign encourages men and boys to wear the white ribbon as the sign of a personal pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.
Throughout the year the White Ribbon Campaign encourages men to do educational work in schools, work places and communities and to support local women's groups. The White Ribbon Campaign lends its voice to the debate on issues around violence against women at conferences and events and in the media.
Chris Green, who co-ordinates the campaign in the UK, said, “New technologies, which are not owned by the status quo, offer a great opportunity to challenge old fashioned attitudes. At WRC we enjoy embracing new technologies in order to access our target market of young men, the group which has the highest incidence of violence against women. We have worked with some amazing allies among SLLU (Second Life Left Unity) to develop our Second Life activities and you can see their work in Second Life by accessing the SLLU Blog or by searching for the White Ribbon Group in Second Life. We also have a rapidly growing Facebook group and downloadable flash animations and are always looking for new ideas and designers to help us develop the campaign.”
The White Ribbon Campaign has taken its campaigning online into the virtual world of Second Life. It has a virtual HQ building where visitors can access information and resources and teleport to other sites on pornography, feminism and women's rights. Being in Second Life also allows the White Ribbon Campaign to bring to virtual life activities and exercises that have traditionally been text based. For example, in the Gender Box activity, visitors can move around and unpack cubes that represent questions and issues to encourage debate, such as, "What is it like to be a man?" White Ribbon Campaign has also created a virtual exhibition stand to give them a presence at Second Life parties and other events in the future.
Knott Hall
Charlestown
Hebden Bridge
Yorkshire
HX7 6PE