{"id":27961,"date":"2025-11-27T16:16:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T16:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/?p=27961"},"modified":"2025-11-27T16:16:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T16:16:31","slug":"the-open-university-commits-to-white-ribbon-accreditation-to-end-violence-against-women-and-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/around-ou\/the-open-university-commits-to-white-ribbon-accreditation-to-end-violence-against-women-and-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"The Open University commits to White Ribbon accreditation to end violence against women and girls"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To mark <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whiteribbon.org.uk\/wespeakup\">White Ribbon Day<\/a> on 25 November,\u202fthe\u202fInternational Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, The Open University has committed to achieving White Ribbon accreditation. White Ribbon is the leading charity in England and Wales engaging men and boys to prevent men\u2019s violence against women and girls.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Each year in the UK, 2 million women experience violence by men. In England and Wales, 1 in 12 women are affected by stalking, harassment, sexual assault or domestic abuse.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As part of the OUs commitment to achieving accreditation an institutional action plan will be created that will help the OU:\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">empower\u202fcolleagues to challenge unacceptable behaviour.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">engage\u202fmen and boys as allies.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">promote\u202feveryday actions that drive change.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">demonstrate sector leadership in preventing gender-based violence.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">embed White Ribbon principles across policies,\u202fculture\u202fand practice.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On 25 November, a White Ribbon Vigil was held at MK Rose in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes which was attended by representatives from across the OU. OU staff members have also created eight OU shields, inspired by the themes \u201cWe Speak Up\u201d and \u201cOrange the world to end violence against women\u201d. The shields are each sponsored by a senior male ally and will be part of an exhibition in CentreMK, curated by Voices of Women MK, in support of MK ACT and SAASSBMK (Sexual Assault and Abuse Support Service Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The OU is home to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cpwo.open.ac.uk\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Centre for Protecting Women<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202f<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Online<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> which is funded by a \u00a37.7 million grant from Research England. The Centre aims to understand and address challenges posed to women\u2019s safety online<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">through a<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">novel, interdisciplinary and ambitious research agenda. Research previously released through the Centre revealed that over one in 10 women in England have experienced online violence, while three in 10 women (30%) have witnessed online violence.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">James Davies, Director of Partnerships and Engagement and a White Ribbon senior male ally at The Open University, said: <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em>\u201c<\/em><\/span><\/b><em>Violence against women and girls is not inevitable. It is preventable, and each of us has a part to play in creating a culture where safety, respect and dignity are never in question. The shocking statistics about the sheer number of women and girls affected by male violence demonstrate the need for organisations such as the OU to act. I\u2019m pleased to be supporting the OU, alongside colleagues from across the university, in its work to achieve White Ribbon accreditation.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jo Dyer, Director of Learner and Discovery Services at The Open University, said: <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cThe scale and spread of male violence against women both in person and online is truly horrific. The women and girls affected will be our friends, our family members, our colleagues and our acquaintances, we must do all we can to create cultures that are safer and respectful. A key part of the White Ribbon campaign is the recruitment of men and boys as allies and as champions. I\u2019m pleased to see the commitment that senior male colleagues at the OU are making to support women and girls and help us end the dreadful violence that they face.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Main image &#8211; Jo Dyer and James Robbins at the shield exhibition in CentreMK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To mark White Ribbon Day on 25 November,\u202fthe\u202fInternational Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, The Open University has committed to achieving White Ribbon accreditation. White Ribbon is the leading charity in England and Wales engaging men and boys to prevent men\u2019s violence against women and girls.\u00a0 Each year in the UK, 2 million [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":27963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,22],"tags":[2534,874,1444,1525,1589,1640,2667],"class_list":["post-27961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-ou","category-university-news","tag-centre-for-protecting-women-online","tag-fbl","tag-milton-keynes","tag-news-home","tag-online-violence-against-women","tag-ou-home","tag-white-ribbon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27961"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27964,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27961\/revisions\/27964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}