St Albans Orange the World Campaign is the Best Ever

#OrangetheWorldHerts to end violence against women – the St Albans Campaign Launch was on Tuesday 25th November and was the brightest and best ever!

25 Nov is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women – also known as  “White Ribbon Day”, and is the start of the 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence – a global United Nations Campaign.

There were multiple Orange the World/White Ribbon events on Tuesday 25 November in St Albans. St Albans City & District Council ran bystander/intervention training in the morning. The afternoon started with an awareness raising walk through St Albans putting up posters about the Herts Domestic Abuse Helpline in public places and in local businesses. Cllr Paul de Kort leader of St Albans Council, Cllr Beth Fisher Mayor of Harpenden, local Police, DL and Hertford Soroptimist, St Albans Soroptimists, St Albans Councillors and staff joined the walk.

The main event was in Council Chambers and among the guests were Cllr Teresa Heritage, the Mayor of St Albans; Cllr Paul de Kort, the Council’s Leader; The Very Rev’d Jo Kelly-Moore, Dean of St Albans; Emma Robarts, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Herts and DCI Mike Birch Herts Constabulary. Soroptimist Ameeta Sabharwal led the proceedings saying “Violence against women and girls is not a distant issue; it is here, it is now, and it affects our communities deeply. Here in Hertfordshire, thousands of incidents of domestic abuse are reported each year, with many more remaining hidden behind closed doors. Globally, the World Health Organization consistently reports that roughly 1 in 3 women will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.” The keynote speaker is a an extraordinarily brave domestic abuse survivor whose story moved just about everyone in the room to tears “Rising Beyond: A Journey of Resilience and Renewal”. At the end she said “I hope that by sharing this, someone else will feel less alone.

Because domestic abuse doesn’t look one way. It doesn’t only happen to certain types of women. It doesn’t begin with violence –  it’s a slow burn. If we want women to speak up – truly speak – we must build systems where disclosure doesn’t feel like a risk. Where truth feels safer than silence. Where women don’t have to choose between danger and disbelief. We must educate our young people around healthy relationships, boundary setting, self esteem and red flags. We must keep the conversations going. If sharing my journey can help even one woman feel seen…one professional understand the invisible dynamics…or one person notice the signs earlier… Then every tremor you have heard in my voice today has been worth it. Thank you for listening.”

The second speaker Rosie Lewis from the University of Hertfordshire delivered a powerful talk on the 8-stage timeline of events before a domestic violence homicide. It is a framework for tracking homicide risk in cases of coercive control and stalking. This 8-stage sequence is based on Professor Jane Monckton-Smith’s research which looked at over 400 cases of intimate partner homicide to identify a common behavioural pattern that can be used in a practical way by professionals to assess threat and risk. There was a request for the framework to be taken up by the Police which will definitely be followed up on. A few other people took to the microphone to explain more about domestic abuse support in St Albans and Hertfordshire.

After this everyone walked from the Civic Centre down to the Museum and Gallery which had turned orange for a photoshoot. On the walk DCI Mike Birch said to Jane Slatter from the Soroptimists “thanks for organising the event, it reinforces why we what we do is important, I wish I had brought some of my other officers along to hear the talks.”

Afterwards Neil Kieran, the White Ribbon champion at St Albans Council said: “This has been the best ever White Ribbon Day event – I think the training, the walk and the talks in the Chamber were really impactive and will bring in some real practical changes.”

For news about more of the events in the Soroptimist’s #OrangeTheWorldHerts campaign please click here https://sigbi.org/st-albans/orange25/

25 Nov is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women – also known as  “White Ribbon Day”, and is the start of the 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence ending on 10 December, Human Rights Day. The St Albans Soroptimist’s theme for the campaign is#CALLITOUT !https://sigbi.org/st-albans/callitout

The theme for White Ribbon Day is “We Speak Up”!

Soroptimist International St Albans & District thank St Albans City and District Council for hosting the event.