Volume 31 Issue 35 11 Nov 2022 17 Heshvan 5783

White Ribbon Day

It is no easy feat when it comes time for the School Representative Council, or the SRC, to vote on a charity for a fundraiser. Of course, all SRC members have charity suggestions, all uniquely important, but after all, the SRC just gets to choose one. This time around, for the upcoming sausage sizzle on Monday, Week 6, the SRC partnered up with the Social Action Va’ad to raise funds for White Ribbon Australia.

White Ribbon Australia, founded in 2007, has roots dating back to 1991 when the White Ribbon Campaign began in Canada.

Founded by pro-feminists, the organisation begins to question what men are doing to end violence against women, using a white ribbon logo to symbolise men’s opposition to violence against women and activism against gendered violence.

Indeed, the White Ribbon Foundation plays an essential role in activism on the issue of gendered violence. With over one in four women experiencing emotional abuse by a current or previous partner since the age of 15 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017), the charity runs an annual White Ribbon Day, where gender norms are being challenged this year. By tackling stereotypes of masculinity, safer environments can be created where men are not expected to conform to a norm but choose whom they want to be as people. In addition, this White Ribbon Day, the organisation aims to engage men in thinking about how they can change gendered violence. White Ribbon also hosts school and workplace talks that discuss the issue of violence against women and call on men to respond to it and how to do so.

All donations to White Ribbon encourage local activities in communities, promote school and workplace programs, and advocate for law reform. It also assists in developing online resources, which the organisation describes as an “essential starting point” to establish an understanding of violence against women and ways to prevent it.

The High School is trialling a new system to order for the upcoming sausage sizzle where all students needed to order online this week.

During the week, the SRC and Social Action Va’ad will also be hosting some activities at lunch:

  • On Monday, a sausage sizzle will be held at lunch and gold coin donation collected.
  • On Wednesday, there will be a documentary on incels and online violence shown at lunch. Interested students should go to B34.
  • On Friday, white ribbons will be handed to students at the school entry.

If you would like to further support this important cause, please use the following link to donate to our event. 

By Kian Hamburger and Ella Hart