Congleton’s White Ribbon Team in town to talk about violence

Congleton Town Council’s White Ribbon group will be in the town centre on Saturday 10th July from 10am – 3pm hosting a stall as part of the Council’s work to eradicate violence and abuse.

White Ribbon Ambassador’s will be on hand to share the important messages about not committing, excusing or remaining silent about abuse and violence, and also where to go to access help and support for those who require it.

In 2020 Congleton Town Council was awarded White Ribbon Accreditation for the work it is doing to stamp out violence. Although the White Ribbon charity is about stopping violence against women and girls, the Town Council is keen to eradicate all violence and abuse and has helped to secure funding for Domestic Abuse clinics in Congleton led by My Cheshire Without Abuse and Congleton Police where anyone can get advice.

Chair of the White Ribbon Working Group, Cllr Robert Hemsley said: “Unfortunately, domestic violence is still real and prevalent across communities. By raising the profile, we hope to get more people talking about the issues and enable more people to realise that there is help out there – both for the victim and perpetrator. Sadly, as a consequence of the COVID-19 Lockdown, cases of domestic abuse and violence have escalated. Congleton currently has an average of one incident of domestic abuse reported per day, and two cases a week of sexual violence.”

The group recently launched a private Facebook page for men and women who want to discuss strategies to talk about eradicating male violence against women and all gender-based violence and abuse. The Facebook page aims to share stories and best practice of what White Ribbon Congleton are doing locally to support this important work. To become a member, people should search on Facebook for the ‘White Ribbon Congleton’ group.

Purpose of White Ribbon

To promote the White Ribbon values and behaviours as a White Ribbon Town Council. White Ribbon UK was founded in 2005 and is part of a global movement to end male violence against women. It is a charity that works with men and boys to challenge those male cultures that lead to harassment, abuse and violence.  For public bodies, White Ribbon accreditation is evidence that an organisation is carrying out its Public Equality Duty for employees, members and service users according to the Equality Act 2010, and this is consistent with Congleton Town Council’s own Equality & Inclusion Policy. To be accredited, the council must take certain actions and promote the work of White Ribbon.

For further information see the Congleton Town Council website:

White Ribbon Working Group - Congleton Town Council (congleton-tc.gov.uk)