NALC renews commitment to tackling violence against women and girls

We have successfully renewed our White Ribbon UK accreditation, reaffirming our commitment to preventing violence against women and girls and promoting respectful, safe and inclusive communities.

White Ribbon UK is the leading charity engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women and girls. Accreditation recognises organisations that demonstrate a sustained commitment to creating positive cultural change through leadership, awareness, education and action.

As part of our renewed accreditation, we will continue to champion the White Ribbon campaign across the parish and town council sector while strengthening our own organisational approach. This includes delivering staff training, supporting awareness campaigns and working through our White Ribbon Steering Group to drive progress against a new three-year action plan.

Building on previous achievements, our renewed action plan places a stronger emphasis on supporting parish and town councils to play an active role in preventing violence against women and girls. Planned activity includes lobbying for greater national support for community-level prevention, promoting access to training for councillors and clerks, encouraging the sharing of local community safety data and developing practical resources to help councils take action in their communities.

We will also explore opportunities to increase the number of White Ribbon accredited parish and town councils. We will continue to promote practical initiatives such as women's safety audits of parks, footpaths, public toilets, transport links and town centres, helping councils identify improvements that make public spaces feel safer and more welcoming.

We encourage parish and town councils to support the White Ribbon campaign and consider how they can help challenge harmful attitudes, promote equality and take practical action to create safer public spaces for everyone.

Renewing our White Ribbon UK accreditation reflects our continued commitment to preventing violence against women and girls and creating safer communities. Parish and town councils have a unique role in bringing people together, shaping local places and raising awareness of important issues. Through our renewed action plan, we want to equip councils with the knowledge, resources and confidence to make a meaningful difference in their communities.

Cllr Iain Hamilton
NALC chair