Andy Walker: Walking the talk with White Ribbon

Andrew Walker is a Salvationist with purpose. Passionate about ending violence against women, he is a spokesperson for White Ribbon Counties Manukau - whose 2016 spoken word competition winners have already reached over 1 million users on Facebook. 

Andrew sees a future where this message of hope, healing and protection for women spreads further than ever before.

Spoken word is such a challenging way to present the issue of violence against women and one that  see White Ribbon Counties Manukau seeking to speak about on many different fronts. Tell us a little more about them!

White Ribbon Counties Manukau was set up six years ago by partnering community members and agencies in the Auckland region to promote the messages of White Ribbon - providing education and traction in ending violence against women. 

Every year, WRCM have a lead agency who spearhead the year’s events and programmes. For the last few years The Salvation Army Manukau has been that agency. Diana Vao - one of our social workers at The Salvation Army Manukau Community Ministries - has been on the committee for the full six years and has now been elected to chairperson.

And how did you get involved with them?

I became involved in the second year of WRCM when I was asked to run the sound desk for the High School Breakfast. I am now in my fifth year with them! I am fully involved in all the events and I'm really passionate about promoting the messages of White Ribbon - especially those around education for our young people. I now manage the Facebook page, produce the spoken word/other highlight videos for events and create the event posters. I'm on the White Ribbon Counties Manukau committee, and next year I will head up the High School ambassadors initiative as well as lead the spoken word competition with Diana Vao. 

The Spoken Word Event is such a good idea - one that is engaging young people in action and dialogue around violence against women. Can you tell us more about this?

The Spoken Word Event is open to highschool-aged young people, and WRCM come up with a theme for them to write their piece about. This year the theme was “ME” - especially around respecting, honouring and caring for ‘me'. Last year was “I AM”. We have different schools and a maximum of 3 entries per school... the quality never fails to surprise us and the passion and content is beyond awe-inspiring. 

There are prizes for first, second and third place - the winners (and their school) receive a carved trophy in the shape of the White Ribbon symbol. The carving is done by Auckland Va'a  from West Auckland - we show him the ribbon, he puts the pattern on it each year and we sign it off. This year we also got him to carve 5 smaller trophies to give to people who have gone the extra mile for White Ribbon, as a symbol of our appreciation.

This is one of many events the committee puts on - we have a flea market day, a high school breakfast and a Walk A Mile In Her Shoes event. Next year we are implementing High School White Ribbon ambassadors to promote the message within schools and to drive some of the events.

What are some of the biggest challenges you are facing?

Raising awareness and stopping violence against women. There are people who abuse or know of abuse but do not speak up or ask for help. There are also people who don’t always know how to get out of these situations or can’t see a way out. We find when we are out in public that some people don’t take it seriously - for instance we hand out ribbons and sometimes people just throw them on the ground or look the other way.

"... some people don’t take it seriously - for instance we hand out ribbons and sometimes people just throw them on the ground or look the other way."

Another challenge is in educating people about what violence looks like. For most, they would say violence is 'just physical' but we try to explain the it’s also non-physical; it’s the mental and emotional abuse; it’s not letting you see your family or only having one phone and being watched all the time. We promote healthy respectful relationships based on informed consent.

Have you seen attitudes to domestic/intimate partner/family violence against women and children change in your time with White Ribbon?

For myself, I don’t feel that those terms capture the full reality for most women who experience violence. 1 in 3 women will experience violence in some way. 'Domestic violence' and 'intimate partner violence' create the image of violence within a relationship - which definitely is the biggest percentage of violence against women - but there is also rape, physical violence and emotional violence towards women who aren’t in relationships with the males who abuse them.

Kat and Nat who won our spoken word competition this year articulated this point perfectly by talking about the blame culture around rape and that girls need to wear more covered clothes or not go out at night. But in reality it’s the boys or men that need to learn it’s not ok to take advantage or women, it's not ok to think they have a right to lay hands on women, it's not ok to disregard a woman's consent in sexual/emotional connections.

" [There is a] blame culture around rape and that girls need to wear more covered clothes or not go out at night. But in reality it’s the boys or men that need to learn it’s not ok to take advantage or women, it's not ok to think they have a right to lay hands on women, it's not ok to disregard a woman's consent in sexual/emotional connections."

The spoken word winner videos on our Facebook page have reached over 1 million users, which is a massive boost in getting this message out. While this is no doubt a great, impactful number - in some ways we are preaching to the converted. The people who watch, like and share them and attend our events are generally already supporters of White Ribbon.

"... in some ways we are preaching to the converted..."

But our true hope is that some of those viewers or people coming to our events maybe are not supporters or they are abusers; and that they can pause and reflect - maybe even have a change of heart and think about what they are doing and seek help. We have already seen more of our young people taking an active role in White Ribbon and the passion they bring is awesome.

How can Salvationists / those associated with The Salvation Army community do something to contribute to a new reality for women?

We want to see more people actively out there promoting the messages of healthy relationships and consent. We want to see NZ no longer topping the lists for abuse against women and children. It is awesome that the Salvation Army Manukau Community Ministries is the lead agency for White Ribbon Counties Manukau and I would like to see that continue. Other corps or centres can always run their own events like a breakfast or spoken word or dinner to get the message out.

 "But most of all, we as The Salvation Army, the church and its members need to step up and model healthy relationships."

I would like to see Corps officers preach about healthy relationships; youth groups to discuss consent and us all to internalise and live out what healthy relationships look like. But most of all, we as The Salvation Army, the church and its members need to step up and model healthy relationships. I’m sure most of us would support the messages behind White Ribbon about ending violence against women and think "Yeah, that's a good idea." - but we need to be more proactive. We need to get out there and to speak up. If men are in a conversation that is degrading women then they should say something. When you say nothing it’s the same as condoning it.

What do you want us to pray for in the coming years of your work and ministry?

• Pray for the women and children who are stuck in violent relationships.
• Pray for the men to stand up and take an active role in stopping violence towards women.
• Pray for the agencies who work within the sector of violence against women.
• Pray for the schools and for young people who will be ambassadors.
• Pray for our future generations that they won’t need to face the same issues as the generations before.

Check out more of White Ribbon's awesome work here, to find out about the free workshops, events and campaigns that you can be a part of in your region.

- Are you or anyone you know experiencing abuse? Please contact http://areyouok.org.nz/ for people who can help partner with you for a safer future.