White Ribbon Awarded to Australian Navy

The CEO of White Ribbon Australia, Ms Libby Davies, presented a certificate of accreditation to the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs during a ceremony in Canberra.

Vice Admiral Griggs said he was “exceptionally proud that Navy had achieved full accreditation.”

Navy has, for some time, been committed to the White Ribbon campaign – a male led movement to end violence against women. Last year, Vice Admiral Griggs committed Navy to a pilot programme to become a White Ribbon Accredited Workplace.

The accreditation process took twelve months and involved submitting documents and other material for audit, development and delivery of a training package and completion of two culture surveys. Vice Admiral Griggs acknowledged that this required considerable effort.

“White Ribbon Accreditation has been a whole of Navy undertaking. Our people’s response, particularly to the surveys, has been excellent and I thank all those who have been in any way involved,” Vice Admiral Griggs said.

Ms Libby Davies, the CEO of White Ribbon Australia, said Navy was the largest organisation to achieve accreditation in Australia.

“White Ribbon Accreditation, involving the meeting of 17 Criteria under 3 Standards, is only given to workplaces that demonstrate a culture of zero tolerance of men’s violence against women.”

“This award-winning, world first accreditation initiative assists organisations to embed the White Ribbon messaging within the organisation’s leadership, procedures and staff training, and simultaneously strengthens the organisation’s stance in relation to anti-bullying legislation,” Ms Davies said.

Navy is one of only a handful of organisations that has achieved White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation.

“While this is a privilege, it also carries considerable responsibility. It is now up to all of us to continue to demonstrate that, organisationally, violence against women is something that Navy condemns,” Vice Admiral Griggs said.

“Individually, in the workplace and in the community, Navy people should promote positive attitudes and behaviours towards women, and intervene to prevent violence against women when needed,” he said.

Ms Davies added that “White Ribbon Workplaces lead the wider community by example, ultimately driving culture change from within. The Royal Australian Navy has demonstrated a genuine commitment to preventing violence against women, and is to be congratulated on this important achievement.”

Navy has more than 80 White Ribbon Ambassadors, hosts White Ribbon events and has now gained workplace accreditation.

“We can all be very proud of what we have achieved. More importantly though, our commitment to White Ribbon is not merely symbolic; it reflects Navy’s culture and values. At the end of the day it is the actions that we as men take to end the violence against women that really counts,” Vice Admiral Griggs said.

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Press Release, June 11, 2014; Image: Australian Navy