The latest visitors to Dens as part of the Community Initiative are a campaign who also visited last season; the White Ribbon Campaign. White Ribbon campaign to raise awareness of the problem of violence against women, and will be represented on Sunday by members of the Dundee Violence against Women Partnership. This is part of a wider, global campaign of men and boys committing to taking action to stop violence against women.
Statistics show that domestic violence occurs once every ten seconds, and that in over 80% of recorded examples of domestic violence, the victim is female, and the perpetrator is male. To help raise awareness of this problem, Dundee FC players will be wearing strips adorned with a white ribbon, as the club alongside Dundee FC Supporters' Society continue to support this very worthy cause.
Dundee FC Supporters’ Society spoke to Kathryn Sharp from the Dundee Violence Against Women Partnership to ask her why White Ribbon were returning to Dens. ‘We are really delighted to be returning to Dens as part of this year’s 16 Days of Activism for the Elimination of Violence Against Women campaign. All the staff and members of the Dundee Violence Against Women Partnership look forward to visiting Dundee FC each year. We are looking forward to an exciting derby match and speaking with supporters of the club about our work to end violence against women in Dundee.’
‘As always, our primary reason for visiting Dens is to raise awareness amongst staff and supporters about issues of violence against women and the thousands of people across Dundee that this issue affects. Each year hundreds of women and children are supported by Dundee Women’s Aid, Barnardo’s, Tayside Domestic Abuse Initiative and the Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre because of the impact of domestic abuse, sexual violence and sexual exploitation. Thousands of incidents are also reported to Tayside Police who work very hard to keep everyone who is at risk safe.’
‘We know that many of the staff, supporters and other people associated with Dundee FC will have been affected by domestic abuse, either directly, or through a family member, friend or colleague. We also know that the club is committed to supporting us to tackle these issues and to support women and children in Dundee to live their lives free from violence and abuse. We had a brilliant visit to Dens last year. Many supporters took the White Ribbon pledge and committed to never to commit, condone or stay silent about men’s violence against women. We were really grateful for their support and look forward to many more pledging this year. Staff and members of the Dundee Violence Against Women Partnership and White Ribbon Scotland are always welcomed warmly to Dundee FC, with many supporters stopping to talk to us and find out more about our work last year.’
Community Director Jacqui Robertson was obviously delighted to be able to extend an invitation to White Ribbon against this season, ‘Club secretary Laura Hayes and the manager and players have been supporting the White Ribbon Campaign for a few years now, and myself and the Society have been keen to add our voices to those campaigning to stop violence against women. A cause close to my own heart, it's with pride that I watch our manager, players and staff don the white ribbon. The fact that this year’s visit falls on a derby day is even better with a bigger crowd to welcome our guests. It's also important to remember that incidences of domestic violence rise during the Christmas period and after football matches so for our fans to stand against this is brilliant. Please sign up to the campaign on the day and wear your ribbon with pride’
This weekend's charity visit is sponsored by the Glasgow Dees, their secretary Ian Rae explained why, ‘We believe that it's important for the club to rebuild our place in the community after 2 periods of administration. The Glasgow Dees were formed 10 years ago this season; as part of our celebrations, we are happy to support the community initiatives by sponsoring our charity guests, White Ribbon Scotland this weekend.’
Any supporters clubs or individuals interested in sponsoring future charity visits should contact Community Director Jacqui Robertson at jacquiroberton@rocketmail.com
Dundee FC Supporters’ Society would like to welcome our guests today, who represent a cause which seeks to put an end to violence towards women, and would invite Dundee supporters of all ages to take the pledge, to help put an end to this problem. To take the pledge, or find out more information about the work done by White Ribbon Scotland, please visit their website here