Dannevirke White Ribbon message calls adults to lead by example

TDC deputy mayor Erana Peeti-Webber speaks to those assembled in Rangitane Square on Friday, November 25, White Ribbon Day.

“Boys will be the men we teach them to be,” is this year’s White Ribbon Message Tararua deputy mayor Erana Peeti-Webber delivered to her audience in Rangitane Square Dannevirke on November 25 – the day the worldwide campaign highlights the need to stop violence against women.

White Ribbon says, “This year as part of the White Ribbon Campaign, rather than focus on our traditional White Ribbon events, we want to support dads (and parents and caregivers) to set up their children to have ‘respectful relationships’ (which by definition do not involve violence), and role modelling ‘healthy masculinity’.”

Members of the Tararua White Ribbon Group met around a free sausage sizzle to highlight the terrible toll violence on women takes and to ask adults to lead by example in educating their young men, flipping the saying “Boys will be Boys” around to “Boys will be awesome, generous, friendly, respectful, ethical, supportive and caring”.

The Dannevirke White Ribbon group assembled in a quiet moment.

Erana’s message said that in Tararua our rangitahi aged 15-19 make up the biggest group of those who are sexually assaulted and those who are carrying out those assaults.

She suggested boys need to be shown respect towards girls and women in their daily lives, encouraged to participate in sport, called out when they say something offensive about females but guided to express their emotions and even cry.

She emphasised that to break the cycle of violence adults had “to lead by example”.

Tararua White Ribbon had organised a week of activities leading up to World White Ribbon Day November 25 starting with a karakia in both Dannevirke and Tararua at 6am on Monday.

It placed white ribbons and stories of family violence victims on trees at Dannevirke’s southern entrance.

It invited families and businesses to “white ribbon their property” to show support for the cause and photograph it, sending it to Tararua White Ribbon Action Group to win a $250 Prezzy Card (closed November 30).

It hosted the White Ribbon Motorcycle Riders as they swept north through Tararua on Thursday and finally held its free sausage sizzle to attract the crowd to hear the message.

Constable Dayna Mercer, who is the new chairwoman of the Dannevirke White Ribbon Support Group, replacing Hanna Kingi after three years of sterling work, was delighted with the week. She said a number of businesses, families and agencies have “got on board” and the results of the challenge will be known next week.