Philip Seccombe signing the White Ribbon promise
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe has added his voice to a global call for men to ‘Make The Promise’ to say no to violence against women and girls.
On White Ribbon Day (November 25) he has joined more than 38,000 people in the UK making the promise to never commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women. It comes at the start of a 16-day global campaign to end violence against women and girls.
Mr Seccombe said: “Making the pledge is a very simple act that demonstrates my support for a concerted effort to end violence committed by men against women. This is a real opportunity to get the message out that male violence against women must end.
“We can all make a difference by thinking of our own behaviour and what we are doing to call out sexist and harassing behaviour whenever we see it. A key part of the White Ribbon campaign is to encourage all men to listen to women and learn to be allies, so that we can end violence against women once and for all. I’m very supportive of this aim, as despite much progress in the work to tackle issues such as domestic abuse, honour-based crimes, harassment and misogyny over recent years, there is still much more to be done.
“I’ve made tackling violence against women and girls one of the key areas of focus in my forthcoming Police and Crime Plan for Warwickshire and I am determined to see an even greater emphasis on tackling these offences and changing the cultures that underpin them. As well as ensuring we identify and bring to justice those that commit offences, with strong support provided to their victims, we also all need to act to call out this behaviour wherever we see it to create a culture where this type of behaviour cannot continue.”
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire commissions and funds a wide range of services dedicated to supporting victims and helping the vulnerable, including those affected by domestic and sexual abuse.
In tackling some of the wider issues of the vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls, the Commissioner and Warwickshire County Council have been successful in a bid for £249,000 of additional funding from the Home Office for a range of initiatives designed to improve public places across the county that women and girls have reported feeling unsafe in.
Mr Seccombe has also secured a further £200,000 government funding to sit alongside £100,000 from the Commissioner’s Grants Scheme for a programme which works with domestic abuse perpetrators to change their offending behaviour, focusing on therapeutic support, structured group work, individual work and intensive case management.
The funding also provides specialist support for connected victims, including 1:1 therapeutic counselling and weekly group therapy sessions.
Make the promise
White Ribbon UK are specifically asking men to make the Promise, however anyone over the age of 14 can take it.
You can make the White Ribbon promise at: www.whiteribbon.org.uk/promise.
Getting help and support
The Police and Crime Commissioner works with a number of organisations across the county to ensure specialist support is available for those affected by domestic and sexual abuse.
You can find out more about these services at:
www.warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk/helpingyou/
If you’re a victim of domestic abuse, or know someone who is, and there’s an emergency that’s ongoing or life is in danger, call 999 now. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use the textphone service 18000 or text the police on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.
For non-emergency help from the police, you can report incidents online at www.warwickshire.police.uk or dial 101.
