Marking White Ribbon Day | News

More than 80 people came together at St Pancras Hospital to honour the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls on 25 November - White Ribbon Day.

Those who attended the event included staff, members of our community with relevant lived experience and representatives from the voluntary sector.

The event was opened by Jason Grant-Rowles, lived experience lead in the Trauma collaborative team and Dr Vincent Kirchner, our Partnership’s Medical Director.

They read the White Ribbon Pledge which includes the promises to never stay silent, nor to condone or commit violence against women and girls.

This reflects our Partnership’s commitment to honour this on behalf of all our service users and staff.

Dr Philippa Greenfield, one of our Consultant General Adult Psychiatrists then spoke about the National Sexual Safety Charter. She was joined by Shirley McNicholas, Women’s and Trauma-Informed Lead at Drayton Park Women’s Crisis House.

Maneek Sahota and Anna Young, the Partnership’s Domestic Abuse Practitioners followed this by leading a workshop on domestic abuse and our Partnership’s ‘Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harm’ policy.

Attendees also heard from Anuska Casas Pinto, one of our Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, and Lucy Duckworth from the Survivors’ Trust in the form of a trauma-informed sexual violence workshop.

Pledges

Some of the attendees made their own White Ribbon-style pledges. Some of them are:

“I will change the environments in inpatient services to support a trauma-informed service.”

“I am going to present to my research team what it means to be trauma-informed and how we can use this in non-clinical settings.”

“I promise to advocate for survivors and outline policies and the support that is available.”

“I will ask where someone wishes to sit in the room.”

“I pledge to bring in more men as allies and make sure that more men attend this event next year!”

Joyce Dutch, a lived experience member of the Women’s strategy group, rounded off the event with a poetry reading.

The event reaffirms the Partnership’s commitment to being a trauma-informed organisation.