Wrapping up 2022 with #TheGoal

#TheGoal started as an idea for raising awareness about the urgent need to make public spaces safer for women and girls, because many of the places a woman must navigate are not always made with her comfort, safety or success in mind.

Considering the harmful cultures perpetuated in some traditionally male-dominated spaces - where negative definitions of masculinity are left unchallenged, and, in some cases, encouraged - #TheGoal was our way to flag the need for women and girls to feel safe, welcome and recognised in all aspects of their lives. 

The focus of our campaign for White Ribbon Day 2022 has been on football, as the FIFA Men's World Cup coincided with White Ribbon Day and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence this year. But as we've witnessed, all those who've participated in this campaign over the past few months and, in particular, the past two weeks, #TheGoal goes well beyond the football pitch:

- It's united leaders of the rail industry around a common objective: To make public transportation an inclusive industry to the women in its workforce and the women using their trains and stations. (Photos courtesy of Stuart Bailey Photography)

#TheGoal has reached into nearly every part of our society to highlight how women and girls must negotiate, fight for and sometimes forfeit their right to be in spaces men occupy without a second thought given to their security, without a doubt about whether they deserve to be there.

Making public spaces safer for women and girls is more than a question of security - though it's an important prerequisite for any space - it's also about encouraging women to thrive and have their achievements celebrated with equal fanfare.

Thanks to the incredible support of our White Ribbon Accredited Organisations, White Ribbon Supporter Organisations, and White Ribbon Ambassadors and Champions, #TheGoal has become a UK-wide campaign including a diverse range of actors in the public and third sectors, as well as multiple industries in the private sector. 

Your support has been crucial to the campaign's success, and in spreading what has always been #TheGoal at White Ribbon UK: ending men's violence against women and girls.