At Her-Place, working alongside Crewe Town Council, we are committed to a simple but important ambition: we want Crewe to be a place where women and girls feel safe.
And we know that creating safer communities doesn’t happen through one organisation working alone.
We are already working with a growing number of partners across Crewe, including Avanti, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, businesses, community organisations, schools and many others, looking at what we can collectively do to make our town a safer place for women and girls.
Because safety isn’t just about what happens when a woman or girl experiences violence. It’s also about the environment we create every day — on our streets, on public transport, in workplaces, in schools, in sports, in our night-time economy and within our communities.
White Ribbon is more than a day
As Chair of White Ribbon for Crewe, I am incredibly passionate about the message behind the campaign.
For me, White Ribbon isn’t simply about wearing a white ribbon on one particular day each year.
It is about ending violence against women and girls every day.
It’s about recognising that violence and abuse don’t happen in isolation. They exist alongside attitudes, behaviours and inequalities that can become normalised — including misogyny, sexism, harassment, controlling behaviour and the objectification of women and girls.
And if we genuinely want things to change, we need to be prepared to challenge those attitudes.
It starts with a challenge
Sometimes challenging sexism or misogyny can feel uncomfortable.
Perhaps a friend makes a sexist joke.
Perhaps someone makes a comment about a woman’s appearance.
Perhaps we hear someone dismissing harassment as “just banter”.
Perhaps we see behaviour that makes someone uncomfortable but don’t know whether we should say something.
But change can start with something as simple as:
“That’s not okay.”
“I don’t think that’s funny.”
“Would you speak about a man that way?”
“We need to challenge this.”
We need more men to become active allies in ending violence against women and girls.
This isn’t about blaming all men. It is about recognising that men have an incredibly important role to play in creating change.
Men can challenge their friends.
Men can challenge sexism in the workplace.
Men can talk to their sons about respect and equality.
Men can be positive role models for young people.
Men can call out harmful behaviour.
And men can make it clear that violence and abuse against women and girls will never be acceptable.
Our focus this year: schools and male role models
This year, our White Ribbon work in Crewe is going to have a particular focus on schools, young people and male role models.
If we want to change the future, we have to talk to young people now.
We want boys and girls to grow up understanding that women and men are equal.
We want boys to understand what healthy relationships look like, what respect means and why their words and actions matter.
And we want young men to see positive male role models who are prepared to talk openly about equality, respect and challenging harmful behaviour.
The men that young people see around them, their dads, grandads, teachers, coaches, employers, sports leaders, community leaders and friends, can have an enormous influence.
We need those men to be part of the conversation.
We all have a part to play
Creating safer spaces for women and girls isn’t something that women can achieve on their own.
It requires all of us.
It requires councils, businesses, transport providers, schools, emergency services, community organisations, sports clubs, workplaces and individuals to look at what they can do differently.
And importantly, it requires men to stand alongside women as allies and be part of the solution.
Our ambition is that one day we won’t need campaigns telling women how to keep themselves safe.
Instead, we will have created communities where women and girls are safe.
That is the change we are working towards in Crewe.
So this White Ribbon, I am asking men across our town to do more than simply wear the ribbon.
Wear it. Talk about it. Challenge sexism. Challenge misogyny. Be a positive role model. Start conversations. Support women. Teach boys about equality and respect.
Because ending violence against women and girls isn’t something we should think about for one day.
It’s something we need to work towards every single day.
And sometimes, change really does start with something as simple as a challenge.
Next step is to work with Winsford Town Council to action the same.