White Ribbon Day was created by a handful of Canadian men in 1991 on the second anniversary of one man's massacre of fourteen women in Montreal. They began the White Ribbon Campaign to urge men to speak out against violence against women.

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) and the White Ribbon has become the symbol for the day.

From 2000, the Commonwealth Government Office for Women ran awareness activities on the International Day, and, in 2003, the Australian branch of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, began a partnership with men and men's organisations to make this a national campaign. Ten thousand white ribbons were distributed in 2003.

Today hundreds of thousands of white ribbons are worn by men and women across Australia - men at work; men and women in all Australian police forces; men in national and local sporting matches and organisations; men in the media; men and women in politics; men in the defence forces; men and women in capital cities and in rural and regional Australia.

There are several Melbourne-based events where you can show your support for White Ribbon Day. QVWC and Project 5-O have organised the SleepSafe Breakfast at the Park Hyatt on November 21 or check out the White Ribbon Day calendar of events for other opportunities.

Ribbons will be available at events or you can purchase a white ribbon for $2 at The Body Shop.

Know the facts: some statistics on violence against women

o Almost 60% of Australian women suffer abuse, sexual harassment or violence by men.
o Family violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in Victorian women aged 15 - 44, being responsible for more of the disease burden than many well-known risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity. (VicHealth 2004)
o The annual cost of domestic violence to the business/corporate sector was estimated at $1.5 billion with an approximate cost of an individual case of domestic violence being estimated at almost $10,000. (Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearing House, 2002)
o The estimated cost of family violence in Australia in 2002- 03 was $8.1 billion. (Access Economics 2004)
o The 2005 VicHealth and DHS Personal Safety Survey, found one in three women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.