RCT leads the way in highlighting the safety of women and girls

Date published: 12 December 2023

A procession raising awareness of violence against women and girls and the White Ribbon campaign marched to Rochdale Town Hall on 7 December.

Organised by Rochdale domestic abuse charity Rochdale Connections Trust (RCT), the group, who were dressed in orange with visible White Ribbon pins, was made up of survivors and RCT staff, as well as members of other organisations including Theatre in Flow, WHAG, Petrus, Rochdale Women’s Welfare, Victim Support and Rochdale Borough councillors.

This year the White Ribbon campaign is centred around making choices that #changethestory for women and girls, including challenging harmful and misogynistic behaviours.

Around 65 people gathered at the RCT building on Drake Street and walked down to the town hall shouting chants such as, ‘whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no.’

The procession was met by Inspector Jennifer Partington and Jim Faulkner, Rochdale Chief Superintendent and GMP Tactical Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls.

CS Faulkner spoke to the group about the work that’s been done in Rochdale, he started by making the White Ribbon pledge to ‘Never Use, Excuse or Remain Silent About Men’s Violence Against Women and Girls’ before saying: “Rochdale has led the way with a women’s only Independent Advisory Group, which is the first of its kind in GMP.

He continued: “We also have Operation Lioness, a summer campaign to target the nighttime economy and open spaces to make them safer for women and girls.

“We have also led on initiatives around offender management and a new product to help identify high risk, high harm offenders which helps us to identify high harm victims and how we can support them better.”

He also highlighted the lack of trust in the police following high profile cases such as the murder of Sarah Everard and the importance of rebuilding that trust.

Jenny Miller and Holly Stevenson, from RCT, then spoke about the work the organisation does each year as part of the White Ribbon campaign and discussed the findings of a recent poll they actioned asking women who live in Rochdale to share details of how safe they feel in the borough.

Results of the poll can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1q_VVH-U7qSsJhmsznzANMqlxp25YshKv_GkCKx3Hg6s/viewanalytics

Jenny Miller, domestic abuse manager, said: “A massive thanks to all of our ladies who have experienced domestic abuse for joining us in supporting the White Ribbon campaign and thank you to the two men who also turned up to support us.

“Domestic abuse is mistakenly seen as a women’s issue and women are expected to stand together to stop violence. However White Ribbon calls on men to stand side by side with women to end violence against women and girls, it’s so important that we work together to make Rochdale a safer place.

“We really appreciate our participants, staff and partner agencies for supporting our efforts in raising awareness of White Ribbon and the campaign. It was a brilliant day.”

Holly Stevenson, project service manager, added: “During the 16 days of action, I’ve heard some inspiring stories being shared by women who have been impacted by domestic abuse. It was great to be able to share their concerns with GMP, who can hopefully take them forward and make our community a safer place for women and girls, now and for future generations.”

Following the procession, the group gathered at the Flying Horse, after being offered the space for tea, coffee and some cake. A few people gave moving speeches about the impact of the campaign and talks of how it could be topped next year.

Holly added: “RCT wants to say a special thank you to Action Together, particularly Nichelle Cutler, who provided funding that made the procession possible by allowing them to buy materials, resources and put towards staff time.”

 For more information about Rochdale Connections Trust and the work they do, visit: r-c-t.co.uk