General

	Click on the image to visit the My Oath website.

Time to swear and wear a white ribbon to achieve social change

November 25 is the International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women - White Ribbon Day

The ASU is a long time supporter of the White Ribbon Day campaign, which aims to eliminate violence against women by promoting culture change. On November 25 we encourage our members and friends to be part of this day by wearing a white ribbon or participating in events or simply talking with each other about how important the issue is in our society.

Social change

We all need to take action to alter attitudes that allow violence against women to occur.

When it is unacceptable in every community across Australia for men to be violent towards women, if someone always speaks out when violence takes place, if all of us including our children understand and accept that we must be respectful in our relationships with one another, then we will have achieved social change.

The Four Corners documentary 'Code of Silence' highlights that violence supporting attitudes are still prevalent in our society.

We are asking all Australians to challenge these attitudes and behaviours, so that we can begin to drive real change in our community.

Find out more about creating social change in your community.

My oath

As part of the 2009 awareness raising, Australians, especially men, are being asked to swear online in support of the campaign.

Visit the My Oath website at http://www.myoath.com.au/ to build the numbers that show that Australians want to eliminate violence against women.

Why should I swear?

UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon has labelled violence against women the most prevalent violation of human rights on the planet. And Australia is far from immune.

Currently, one in three Australian women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Every single one of us knows a woman who has suffered its effects, whether we know it or not. These women are our mothers, daughters, our wives, our girlfriends, colleagues and friends.

By supporting this campaign you are helping to ensure that Australia becomes a safer place for all women, and their children.

What forms does violence against women take?

The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines violence against women as: "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life." In simple terms, violence against women is violence "directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects a woman disproportionately" There are many kinds of and names for violence against women:

• domestic violence, family violence, wife-beating, intimate violence, intimate homicide, femicide
• sexual violence, sexual assault, rape, marital rape, gang rape, date rape, acquaintance rape, indecent assault, sexual harassment, sex-based harassment
• child abuse, child sexual abuse, paedophilia, incest
• homophobic violence, hate crime, lesbian bashing, elder abuse
• genital mutilation
• enforced prostitution
• enforced sterilisation, enforced abortion, killing of unwanted female babies, enforced motherhood

White Ribbon Day ambassadors

The ASU has been represented on the campaign for some years by Ambassador and ASU Assistant National Secretary Greg McLean. Many other trade unionists are ambassadors along with prominent men from all walks of life: http://www.whiteribbonday.org.au/Ambassadors-33.aspx