International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
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Come to Women's Conference 2005!
Download and print our "Stop Violence Against Women" posters:
Stop Violence Against Women poster
Stop Violence Against Women poster - bilingual version
More info about SWAV can be found at www.nusonline.co.uk/svaw
Campaigning Ideas for White Ribbon Day, 25 November 2004
White Ribbons
- White Ribbons are the symbol of the Stop Violence Against Women Campaign. Wearing a white ribbon means that you will not commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women. You can purchase them directly from CN Promotions. Minimum orders of 200 ribbons will cost £20.00 plus £2.00 posting and packaging. Their contact details are:
t: 01509 235550 f: 01509 554126 e: sales@cn-promotions.co.uk*
(*This is only a suggestion, NOT an official recommendation. NUS cannot be held responsible for any external organisation/company's service/actions) - It is also easy to make you own. Pop into a haberdashery shop (where you get sewing stuff and material etc) and buy some white ribbon and some small safety pins. Collect your friends or members of your women’s group, and spend an afternoon or an evening making them. It won’t take you that long, and it can give you a chance to get to know members of your women’s group, as well as making them feel involved in the campaign.
- Talk about the campaign at a meeting of the SU exec committee – perhaps you could propose a motion mandating all the exec to wear a white ribbon on 25 November? (Or you could just ask everyone to!)
- If you have Union staff, speak to the commercial services managers and see if you can get all the union staff (permanent and student-staff) wearing white ribbons too.
- Contact the trade union reps on campus (such as UNISON, NATFHE etc) and ask them what they are doing for the White Ribbon Campaign. You could suggest that you work together on the campaign – see if the reps will contact all their members and encourage them to wear a white ribbon on 25 November. Your SU President should have all the campus trade union contact details – if not, just ask a member of staff. (Remember that there will be one union for teaching staff and one for non-teaching staff.)
- If your institution runs courses such as Women’s or Gender Studies, then get in touch with the lecturer(s) or tutor(s), as they might be interested in supporting the campaign.
Fundraising
- Due to various reasons (namely the 1994 Education Act and charity law) you can’t give money from your block grant to other charities. What you can do is give private donations, such as donations for white ribbons, or money collected from individuals in a collecting tin. If you are unsure about how the law affects the fundraising work you can do, please contact your Regional NUS Officer who will be able to talk with you about this.
- See if you can book a fundraising event (like a disco or karaoke) in your college or a local pub. To encourage people to go, and to get them to wear a white ribbon, you could reduce the entry price for everyone wearing a white ribbon.
- You could also run a raffle or a pub quiz – some of the questions could be about violence against women so that you can inform people about the issues. You can charge people or teams to enter, and then put some of the money up as a prize, and give the rest to charity.
- Get some volunteers from your women’s group or SU RAG group to go round collecting donations in your college and at your entertainment event. Make sure that all donors are given a white ribbon.
Running a Stall
- Book a stall in a prominent place in your union building or somewhere in your college for 25 November or another day that week.
- Find out if you need to get tables and chairs, or if they will be supplied.
- Speak to your women’s group and get some volunteers to help you run the stall – two people is the minimum to make sure everything runs smoothly.
- Make sure that your volunteers are fully briefed well in advance, so they can answer any questions.
- Contact your local Refuge or Rape Crisis Group and ask them if they could help you run the stall.
- On the stall, you could have:
- NUS Women’s Campaign posters
- Leaflets about local services
- White Ribbons
- Collecting tin
- Perhaps a giant White Ribbon in the background so it stands out
- Some facts about violence against women – maybe one fact per A4 poster that you can put up on the wall behind the stall
- Sign up sheet for your women’s group
- A cloth or sheet to drape over the tables to make it look a bit tidier
- Make a rota for whoever is running the stall so that everyone gets a break
Guest Speakers
- Getting guest speakers can be a fantastic way of informing people about the issues, but it does involve a lot of extra work, and you will need to push the event well in advance.
- Write to whoever you want to come to speak as soon as possible. Make sure that they know what it is you want them to speak about and how long they have got to speak.
- Book a room in your union or college, and get the publicity out as soon as possible.
- You could try to get different perspectives on the effect that violence has on the community – a good mixture of speakers might be a local politician, someone from your local Refuge or Rape Crisis Group, and a representative from the Police.
- Have a look at the useful contacts section below for some ideas on who to approach.
- Make sure that the Press is aware of the event, and make sure that all your speakers are wearing a white ribbon.
Publicise the Event
- Get NUS Women’s Campaign posters around your union and/or college.
- Contact external organisations to see if they can provide you with any campaign materials. For example, Amnesty International produces stop violence against women campaign materials you can order (including posters, postcards and bumper stickers): http://www.amnesty.org.uk/svaw/materials
- You could also design your own poster, letting people know where they can get a white ribbon, and where their donations are going.
- At a general meeting (or meeting of Union Council) tell people what the campaign is about, why it is so important, and what you are planning to do.
- Make sure you send a press release out to your student press and the local media so that you can generate as much publicity as possible. Your President will have the contact details for your local press.
Whatever you are doing, let us know at NUS Women’s Campaign. If you need our help, then get in touch: women@nus.org.uk
NUS has produced a powerpoint presentation below designed for unions to use on computers at their SVAW events or to show on plasma screens.
Support WOMANKIND
WOMANKIND Worldwide invites you to join The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. Please see the information and events planner below. This is not an NUS project, so for more information on The 16 Days of Activism please contact WOMANKIND Worldwide directly or look on their web site:
w: www.womankind.org.uk
t: 0207 5495700
e: info@womankind.org.uk
Diary Planner
16 Days of Activism info
Useful contacts
The contact points listed may be able to help inform your campaigns or help you point students who need support or advice in the direction of professionals who are well equipped to help them. You could advertise the details of key organisations and help line numbers in your union/college (on flyers, posters or stickers). Please note that NUS strongly advises against student officers taking on a counselling role with students who have experienced or are experiencing violence. Counselling should only be undertaken by trained professionals.
Disclaimer: Whilst NUS Women’s Campaign has been careful to check the suitability of these organisations as contact points for student officers, it cannot be held responsible for the work or advice of any external organisation. Neither should this list be treated as exhaustive.
Useful phone numbers:
0808 2000 247 (run in partnership with Women’s Aid and Refuge)
The helpline is a member of Language Line and can provide access to an interpreter for non-English speaking callers. The helpline can also access the BT Type Talk Service. Calls are confidential.
Wales Domestic Abuse Confidential helpline, freephone: 08 08 80 10 800
Northern Ireland Women's Aid 24 Hour Helpline (028) 90 331818
For the phone numbers of local Scottish Women’s Aid Groups: http://www.scottishwomensaid.co.uk/groups/index.html
Belfast Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre: Tel 028 90 249696
Useful web links:
‘Hitting Home – Domestic Violence’ [BBC web site] www.bbc.co.uk/health/hh
Amnesty International’s ‘stop violence against women campaign’:
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/svaw
http://web.amnesty.org/actforwomen/index-eng
V-Day UK: Until the violence stops [V-Day promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalise the spirit of existing anti-violence organisations]
www.vdayuk.org
Zero Tolerance [charity campaigning for the prevention of male violence against women and children]: www.zerotolerance.org.uk
Women’s Aid England [domestic violence organisation]: www.womensaid.org.uk
Welsh Women’s Aid [domestic violence organisation]: http://www.welshwomensaid.org
Women’s Aid Scotland [domestic violence organisation]: http://scottishwomensaid.co.uk
Nothern Ireland Women’s Aid Federation [domestic violence organisation]: http://www.niwaf.org
Refuge [domestic violence organisation]: www.refuge.org.uk
Suzy Lamplugh Trust [personal safety experts]: www.suzylamplugh.org
Local Rape Crisis Centres in England and Wales: www.rapecrisis.org.uk/centredetails.htm
Local Rape Crisis Centres in Scotland: www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/local_centres.htm
The Truth About Rape www.truthaboutrape.co.uk & www.rapecrisis.org.uk
Rape Crisis Scotland www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk
Rape Crisis Network Ireland: http://homepage.eircom.net/~nrcci/contents.htm
Justice For Women [a feminist organisation that campaigns for changes in the defences to murder so that they encompass and reflect women's experiences of domestic violence]: http://www.jfw.org.uk
The Roofie Foundation [organisation addressing the situation of drug related rape]: http://www.roofie.com
Southall Black Sisters [a not-for-profit organisation that was established to meet the needs of black (Asian and African-Caribbean) women. Its aims are to highlight and challenge violence against women; empower them to gain more control over their lives; live without fear of violence; and assert their human rights to justice, equality and freedom]: http://www.southallblacksisters.org.uk
Newham Asian Women's Project (NAWP) [provides advice and support for Asian women and children experiencing domestic violence]: http://www.nawp.org
Panahghar [an Urdu word meaning 'Safe House', is a registered charity based in Coventry, England. Panahghar provides refuge accommodation for Asian women of all ages who are being subjected to violence in the home] http://www.safehouse.org.uk/
Broken Rainbow LGBT Domestic Violence Service (UK) (provides services to LGBT people experiencing domestic violence>: www.broken-rainbow.org.uk
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