November 25th has been designated as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Timed to coincide with this date is the White Ribbon Campaign - an international initiative that Belarus joins annually. The symbol of this Campaign is a white ribbon. A man who wears it thereby makes a pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women and girls. 

On the 25th November, volunteers joined traffic police officers on duty in Minsk, Brest, Vitebsk, Grodno, Mogilev, Borisov, Kamenetz, Kobrin, Pinsk and Smorgon to hand out white ribbons, information materials and souvenirs to drivers. This year, the ribbons carry the name of the website www.ostanovinasilie.org – a resource where victims of violence can receive necessary information and free consultations . 

As part of the Campaign in Brest, police officers and UNFPA staff also visited a trolleybus depot, a bus depot, petrol stations and an auto parts store. 

The White Ribbon Campaign was joined by the TV channel “Belarus-2”: on November 25th, the presenters of TV programme “Vremechko” went on air wearing white ribbons. 

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women, which run from November 25th through December 10th (International Human Rights Day). 

See photo report on the White Ribbon Campaign 2013. 

We would like to thank Vadim Zamirouski, website www.virtual.brest.by and LLC “Cable and Terrestrial Television” for the shared photos.