Dane Haskell, Taranaki Safe Families Trust co-ordinator.
Dane Haskell, Taranaki Safe Families Trust co-ordinator.
Kia ora whānau. Following on from last month's article, we're going to continue to push the White Ribbon agenda.
This year's White Ribbon campaign is asking all of us to challenge the #Unspoken Rules.
Unspoken rules are the expectations that boys and young men inherit from society, based on outdatedideas of what a man is, how he acts and how he should express himself. Even if we don't agree with them, these rules still exist silently in the background for far too many.
Rules like Be the Man, Toughen Up and Boys Don't Cry reinforce damaging stereotypes of what it is to be a man.
Taranaki Safe Families Trust has a multi-pronged approach to spread awareness of the White Ribbon kaupapa.
The Waitara Champions annual Motorcycle Poker Run is on Saturday November 16. Registrations from 9:30am – 10:30am at the Waitara RSA.
The group will leave Waitara at 11am and stop at Tutaki Youth Inc in Stratford at 11:45am to engage with the public.
The riders will also stop at Opunake and Oakura before returning to Waitara for prizegiving and a BBQ at 3:30pm. Any enquires ring Joe Rauner 021 0237 1545.
On Thursday November 21 we will be at the town square in Hāwera at lunchtime handing out White Ribbons, offering resources, facilitating a free BBQ and spreading awareness. There will be giveaways and raffles as well.
Friday November 22 is the annual White Ribbon Relay in New Plymouth. It will be held at the Tasman Prospect, the grassed area next to the Wind Wand car park from noon to 1pm. Businesses and organisations enter teams of four to compete in a fun relay, aiming to raise awareness of family violence prevention. There will be prizes for all teams and a free barbecue for the public.
Taranaki Safe Families Trust has installed lots of large White Ribbons in multiple locations throughout the region, including the Fonterra corner in Hāwera, the New Plymouth Police Station, Taranaki Base Hospital and McLean St roundabout in Waitara.
We will also have a pledge printed of 100 local men who support the campaign of ending men's violence toward women.
So there you have it folks, plenty of White Ribbon activities happening for you to get behind and support this worthy cause.
Family violence is a community problem that can only be fixed by communities coming together.
