The GIANTS and Swans will again play for the White Ribbon Cup when they face off in Sydney Derby X at Spotless Stadium on Sunday.
The GIANTS are proud supporters of White Ribbon, Australia’s only national, male led campaign to end men's violence against women.
The White Ribbon Cup was launched at the inaugural Sydney Derby in round one, 2012.
GIANTS co-captains Callan Ward and Phil Davis are passionate ambassadors for White Ribbon and ending violence against women. White Ribbon are also a premium community partner of the club.
One woman a week in Australia is killed as a result of intimate partner violence, one in five Australian women experience harassment in the workplace and one in five women over the age of 18 will be stalked in their lifetime.
The White Ribbon campaign works through primary prevention initiatives including awareness and education raising with schools, work places and across the broader community.
Their vision is to have all women live in safety free from all forms of men’s violence.
“As most men do, I’ve got sisters, a mum, a girlfriend and I just hate the thought that any man would commit violence against them, it would be heartbreaking,’’ Ward said.
“The thought that any woman might be abused by a man just makes my blood boil. I haven’t had any personal experiences where I’ve seen violence against women, but I know people who have and it’s just such a shattering thing to see the effects. To me it’s just such an important cause and something I take very seriously.
“I have a strong belief that there is no place for it in society. I think through organisations like White Ribbon we’ve been able to open people’s eyes to the fact that it’s a lot more common than people might believe and the more we can work together on this the more we can stop it.’’
During the week GIANTS players donated $5000 to the cause as part of the AFL Players Care initiative.
At quarter time of Sunday’s match, the GIANTS will ask the crowd to stand up and take the White Ribbon Oath, pledging to speak out and act to prevent violence by men against women.
“I’d encourage any Australian man to take the pledge and acknowledge that any sort of violence against women is completely unacceptable,’’ Ward said.
The winning captain will be presented with the White Ribbon Cup following Saturday’s game. The player judged best on ground will receive the Brett Kirk Medal.
