Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust achieves White Ribbon accreditation
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is delighted to announce on National White Ribbon Day that it has achieved White Ribbon Accreditation.
White Ribbon Accreditation is in recognition of the Trust’s commitment to preventing harassment, abuse and violence against women and girls. This is just one part of the Trust’s programme of work to improve the sexual safety of its workforce.
A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK. Domestic abuse makes up 18% of all recorded crime in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2022, there were 194,683 sexual offences, of which 70,330 were rape.
One of these victims was tragically the daughter of a member of staff at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Lisa Squire. In 2019 her daughter Libby, a university student, was raped and murdered. The man responsible was also found to be responsible for several unsolved non-contact sexual offences in the student areas of Hull.
Neil Macdonald, Chief Executive of the Trust said: “Lisa has been working tirelessly to raise awareness of non-contact sexual offences as evidence shows that severe sexual violence is almost exclusively preceded by ‘lower level’ unwanted non-contact sexual behaviours. I am deeply indebted to Lisa for her support in helping us define and implement the necessary improvements we need to make at work to help people feel safe. I am delighted to announce that this has resulted in us gaining our White Ribbon Accreditation.”
As a White Ribbon Accredited organisation, the Trust will deliver a comprehensive multi-year plan to transform culture, systems, and the wider community the Trust operates in. White Ribbon Accreditation is an opportunity to make the workplace a safe place for men and women, and to upskill staff to become changemakers.
Some of the actions will include:
- The development of both a Sexual Safety and a Domestic Abuse Policy for employees.
- Appointing Ambassadors within the Trust to advocate positive attitudes and behaviour.
- Raising awareness through working in partnership across our county, with Thames Valley Police and Bucks Fire and Rescue Service, who are also both also White Ribbon Accredited.
Anthea Sully, Chief Executive of White Ribbon UK said: “White Ribbon Accredited Organisations can make a real difference towards ending violence against women by promoting a culture of respect and equality among their staff and wider communities. By raising awareness among employees, people can learn how to become allies and call out violent and abusive behaviour when they see it. We are delighted to welcome Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust as one of our White Ribbon Accredited Organisations and are looking forward to working with them towards ending violence against women once and for all”.