We can all play a part in change; we just have to want to.

White Ribbon Ambassador and Trustee Mike Taggart was awarded a MBE for his services to domestic abuse victims. This White Ribbon Day, he’s encouraging everyone to be part of the solution in ending men’s violence against women.

By Mike Taggart

I have been aware of White Ribbon UK for around 13 years. It was first brought to my attention by my sister who was using their pin badges as wedding favours. Quite an unusual trinket to take away from a wedding, which is all about love and unity whilst White Ribbon highlights the issue of men’s violence against women. But our family story is somewhat different. 

We’ve been affected by what White Ribbon campaign so hard to eradicate. Our story is one that ended in the ultimate act of violence and saw my mum killed by her husband, my stepdad — the man who proclaimed to love her.

When growing up, I was subjected to my stepdad’s misogynistic and homophobic tirades. He would belittle my choice of activities, insisting I do something more ‘masculine’ (apparently dancing wasn’t as manly as boxing). This set me up to have an opposing view of those behaviour traits and I looked for ways to target that. 

I recall the police at our house growing up. This sparked a desire in me to join the police because I wanted to help people.  So, I joined.

I’d worked for six years in uniform responding to 999 calls before I joined the Protection of Vulnerable Persons unit as a Domestic Abuse Officer, the job I really wanted to do — working with victims of domestic abuse directly.

I enabled them to get support, empowered them to leave, and worked with other agencies to implement safeguarding strategies. This experience on the frontline led to become the the Strategic lead for Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-based abuse. It was apparent that the main victim cohort was female. This fact doesn’t dismiss men as victims but it does highlight that things had to change to safeguard women.

I remember sorting through the White Ribbon Accreditation documentation when I was in post. Soon after we accredited, I became a White Ribbon Ambassador and proudly wore my badge, which sparked the idea to have all response vehicles adorned with the White Ribbon. After this idea was approved, I consulted with local authorities and had agreement to get 1,300 taxis across North Wales to don the same White Ribbon stickers.  My own local authority agreed to light up local landmarks in white lights on White Ribbon Day whilst three “light the night” vigils took place across North Wales where members of the public and emergency services showed their joint solidarity.

At what stage do we realise that we can all do something to try and contribute towards this heinous epidemic of men’s violence against women?  It’s not just about overtly campaigning but doing what you can to try and ensure that women feel supported in cultures where they are so blatantly oppressed.

We can all play a part in change, we just have to want to. Anybody can help, it’s not about how much you do, it’s about what you do. Even the simple act of wearing a White Ribbon can start important conversations and raise awareness.

Sergeant Mike Taggart MBE is the Strategic Domestic Abuse Officer for North Wales Police. Taggart is also a White Ribbon UK Trustee and regularly speaks about domestic abuse and issues related to VAWG.