South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit launches new campaign to tackle violence against women and girls

Developed alongside campaign agency Magpie, Every Man Can aims to highlight the role men can play in tackling this issue.

With a range of South Yorkshire men taking a leading role as the faces of the campaign, Every Man Can is aimed at men over 30, and aims to promote positive male role models and behaviours.

The campaign launch was held at Liberty Church in Rotherham.

Speakers included the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, Head of the VRU, Graham Jones, and the team from Magpie. Attendees came from organisations across South Yorkshire, including community and third sector organisations, and public services such as South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

You can visit everymancan.org to learn more about the campaign.

Graham Jones, Head of the South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit said: “Violence Against Women and Girls is an incredibly important issue, which can only be tackled both through support for victims and survivors, and through bringing about long-term changes in social norms and behaviours.

“Every Man Can, the second of the VRU’s campaigns in this space, aims to build on the work done by the first campaign, Men Step Up, which was launched in November.

“By promoting positive male role models and behaviours, we hope that this campaign can generate momentum behind this issue, and help to shift the longstanding social attitudes which contribute to Violence Against Women and Girls.”

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “For the last few years Violence Against Women and Girls has been at the centre of our concerns in South Yorkshire.

“We have used Government funding to make public spaces safer through better lighting and the installation of CCTV cameras.

“More recently the Violence Reduction Unit has focused its campaigns to help men think about their attitudes and behaviours towards women so that misogyny is reduced.

“The new campaign will help men to see what respectful attitudes and behaviours look like.

“No one campaign or initiative can do all this work on its own, but we hope that this campaign can make an important contribution to our efforts in this area.”