On the afternoon of 6th December 1989, a man walked into the Ecole Polytechnique University in Montreal and massacred 14 of his female classmates. His actions traumatised a nation and brought the issue of violence against women to the forefront of our collective consciousness.
Two years later a handful of men in Toronto decided they had a responsibility to speak out about and work to stop, men's violence against women. As a result, the White Ribbon Campaign in Canada became an annual awareness-raising event held between 25 November and 6 December.
In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, with a white ribbon as its iconic symbol.
White Ribbon began in Australia in 2003 as part of UNIFEM (now UN Women). It formally became a Foundation in 2007. White Ribbon is Australia's only national male-led violence prevention campaign.
The White Ribbon Campaign is now the largest global male-led movement to stop violence against women.
