On Friday 25th November 2022 at 7 pm leaders from both Wokingham Borough and Wokingham Town Councils joined a worldwide vigil to mark the start of The Global campaign, LetsEndFemicide, and to remember women who have lost their lives due to male violence.
Kaleidoscopic UK, who supports survivors of domestic abuse was behind the event, together with councilor Sarah Kerr. Kaleidoscope is a charitable organisation of survivors for survivors of domestic abuse in ALL its forms. They are based in the Thames Valley and provide support services throughout England and Wales. The Charity is sponsored by Wokingham Town Council
The vigil also marked the White Ribbon Campaign that engages men and boys to end violence against women and girls.
With the World Cup in mid-flow, the timing of the event was timely with violence against women showing a 30% increase when England loses!
Wokingham leaders in attendance included Council Leader Clive Jones, Wokingham Town Mayor Maria Gee, Borough Mayor Caroline Smith, Sally Gurney the Deputy Mayor Of Wokingham Town
Video of the event
Friday, November 25 White Ribbon Day
Its mission is to prevent violence against women and girls by addressing the root causes and changing ideas of masculinity that can lead to inequality and violence. It has been shown that when England loses a game, the number of incidents of domestic violence against women rises by 30 per cent!
About the White Ribbon Campaign
White Ribbon is the UK’s leading charity engaging men and boys to end violence against women and girls*
Our mission is to prevent violence against women and girls by addressing its root causes. Our aim is to change long established, and harmful, attitudes, systems and behaviours around masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and men’s violence against women. White Ribbon UK’s work is preventative, we want to end violence before it starts.
White Ribbon Ambassadors are men volunteers who engage with other men and boys to call out abusive and sexist behaviour among their friends, colleagues and communities to promote a culture of equality and respect.
White Ribbon Champions are people who support our work, helping us to engage with men and work within communities. Women who are champions are an essential part of White Ribbon, ensuring that the voices of women, especially survivors of violence and abuse, are heard.
White Ribbon Accreditation ensures organisations take a strategic approach to ending male violence against women by engaging with men and boys, changing cultures and raising awareness.
What is Femicide?
Femicide is generally defined as the murder of women because they are women, though some definitions include any murders of women or girls
Femicide has been used to describe killings of women by intimate partners and family members; it has also been used to describe gender-related killings in the community. The term femicide was introduced in the last century to describe killings of women that were gender-related in order to recognise the impact of inequality and discrimination, identified internationally as a root cause of violence against women
Currently, every day globally, 100 women die because of Femicide
LetsEndFemicide calls for an end to gender-based male violence against women and girls worldwide.
Photos by Paul King