On the evening of November 25, 2025, I had the pleasure of attending Survivor Sanctuary’s White Ribbon Day event. White Ribbon Day, originating in Toronto Canada in 1991, is an internationally recognized awareness day aiming to inform, educate about, and fight against gender-based violence. According to the founding Canadian branch of the White Ribbon charity’s website, the movement was sparked in response to the harrowing attack on Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, which tragically led to the loss of 14 women’s lives. It is not a secret that women and people of gender minorities have, unfortunately, always been at the receiving end of horrific and violent acts perpetuated by the social “norms” that have been thrust upon us as a society. It’s arguably equally horrifying that heinous incidents of that nature are normalised and silenced, swept under the rug with survivors feeling unable to come forward and seek justice due to systematic failings and societal taboo. However, in this dark and often sombre world, spaces such as the gathering that Survivor Sanctuary cultivated that night are truly a breath of fresh air and a much-needed retreat from the pressure vacuum that the outside world tends to be.
As self-described on their website, Survivor Sanctuary is a “grassroots organisation formed in September 2022, which is led by survivors, for survivors.”, that aims to provide peer support for survivors of sexual abuse and “cultivate a safe space which provides connection, belonging and friendship through our shared lived experiences, no matter where survivors are on their journey.” As well as peer support, the organisation also uses creative expression such as arts, crafts, and wellbeing activities in order to create moments of peace and healing for survivors. They also play a role in campaigning change, fighting to make room for survivors at the tables where decisions are made, “challenging harmful systems and narratives, and pushing for lasting reform.” Their event is truly a word and testament to their success in achieving that. The evening highlighted survivor stories and histories, specifically that of Black and trans individuals who are statistically more likely to experience gender-based violence. Black Ballad reports that, “According to data from the Office for National Statistics, black women are more likely than women from any other ethnic group to experience gender-based violence. The domestic abuse charity Refuge reports that black women are least likely to be referred to support services after reporting abuse to the police.” As stated by stophateuk.org, in 2020/21 2,630 hate crimes were recorded by the police, with the figure being inaccurate and underreported in comparison with the 108,100 responses from the National LGBT Survey, with 88% of transgender people not reporting the most dire incident types.
The spoken word section of the event ended with the sharing of poems written by survivors about their lived experiences. The speeches were truly moving and touching, and I was almost brought to tears by how understanding, respectful and nurturing the atmosphere and audience was, as well as how full the room was with people who were keen to give their time and presence to a heavy yet highly important discussion.
The evening concluded with zine making, crafting, hot food and fellowship amongst the attendees which truly served as a display of the strength and unity found through community as well as being a sliver of hope for survivors everywhere, acting as a reminder that warm, safe, and welcoming people and spaces are still out there and resistance and change is alive and resounding even if it starts small.
As this year’s White Ribbon Day comes to a close, it is important to note that widespread change starts with the individual. Keep learning and educating yourself on gender-based violence. Listen to survivor’s stories. In keeping with this year’s White Ribbon Day theme which was “Speak Up”, mainly targeted towards male allies but I think carries through to all of us as a wider allyship network, address your internal biases towards the people who don’t have the privileges you do, especially if you are a cisgendered heterosexual man. Call out the injustices you see. Actions such as the former are not reserved for just the 25th of November but are an active and important flame to carry within all 365 days of the year. It is our tolerance, willingness to change, and courage to strive forward that leads to real change, and one small action by you is a spring forward to a world where survivors feel safer.
If you or someone you love are impacted by gender-based violence, I highly implore you to speak out and reach out to your community as a burden shared is a burden halved, and no one should have to carry the weight of their trauma alone. Below are some resources to get you started.
Survivor Sanctuary Coventry | Sexual abuse support | Coventry, UK
Home – CRASAC – Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
Links and Sources:
https://www.whiteribbon.ca/?lng=en
https://www.survivorsanctuary.co.uk/
https://blackballad.co.uk/gender-based-violence
https://www.stophateuk.org/about-hate-crime/transgender-hate/
Written By Angele Kyte.
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