Isn't there a risk to see White Ribbon activities (again) as protecting women and becoming their guardians ?

Hopefully at least not guardians. There is a small risk to see us as protectors, to avoid it we have to repeat often enough that we are doing this for our own sake:

• I'm not violent myself and I don't want to be feared as violent, but as long as even one man hits a woman, all women are afraid of all men;
• I do not accept that a small group of violent men are allowed to destroy my reputation as a man and propagate the idea that men by nature be more violent than women
• on the other hand I realize that violence is a product of our culture / upbringing and / or an indication of serious personal problems.

What if this results in an division of men into 'Knights of the White Ribbon' and 'violent villains'?

This is something we should try to avoid. Accusations and lectures are utterly contraproductive in making these our violent brothers change their behaviour.

Isn't is possible that when men start to speak about domestic violence, they will take all attention from the antiviolence work women have been doing for so long - that when men start to break their silence they will in fact silence women?

This is something else we should try to avoid. We must in all situations remember to point out that women have already for a long time been speaking about the violence and its causes but that we as men have to take our own responsibility and in addition that we as men can avoid to make violence a question of guilt and deal with it in terms of masculinity and responsibility.

The White Ribbon Campaign isn't thought to be a 'countermove' to 'Lyömätön Linja' ('Unbeatable Line', therapy for violent men) ? Cooperation, after all, is strength.

On the contrary, WRC wants to have a close cooperation with the 'Unbeatable Line', to complement it. The 'Unbeatable Line' works directly with men with violence problems, according to the AA model, in order to get these men to take responsibility for their behaviour. WRC rather works to change the attitudes of us nonviolent men, we who blunder and keep silent because we are not violent ourselves and we don't want to mind other people's business.

Why can't the campaign just be 'Men against violence' ? Your justification for the limited scope is that you want as many men as possible to join the campaign. But I doubt that many men would be repelled by a broader scope. Or do you want men that won't beat women but would gladly bash refugees, queers and other exposed groups. Such a campaign I'm not interested to join.

My enthusiasm for the White Ribbon Campaign is damped because it adresses only men's violence against women. Why should we forget about the violence between men - a much more frequent phenomenon ? The world of men will remain violent and martial as long as men's violence against men is considered glorious and entertaining and that men suffer violence in some mysterious way is considered less dangerous than if women suffer.

Most of the men working for the WRC certainly do not accept men's violence against refugees, queers and other exposed groups. Or men's violence against men. Or women's violence against men.

Fighting one form of violence, however, does not exclude fighting other forms, but, on the contrary, complements it. In the name of efficiency, however, we want to focus on the most essential violence.

Domestic violence is the most essential form of violence insofar that it, in addition to poisoning the atmosphere between the sexes in general, in particular poisons the atmosphere where the children are brough up. And men by far outnumber women as the perpetrators of domestic violence; of the 285000 cases of domestic violence reported annually in Finland, 90.2 % is men's violenve against women and 9.8 % women's violence agains men (part of this 9.8 % is probably self-defence).

The White Ribbon Campaign is a single-case movement insofar that within the campaign, arther because of practical reasons, we have decided on a smallest common denominator, such that we all, regardless of social, religious, cultural or other values and opinions, can encompass it. This smallest common denominator is that we won't accept men's violence against women.

How can I support the Campaign ? By spreading the word and acting according to the 'manifesto' ?

The easiest way is to carry a white ribbon on your pullover or jacket, the ribbon does symbolise a pledge not to be violent yourself, and not to condone other men's violence agains women, and although it is a personal pledge, you will have to answer other men's questions about what it stands for, and then you be able to answer and to stand up for your standpoint. You therefore have to think through your motivs and your own relationship to violence in general and to violence against women in particular; you may have to face anything between appreciation and enthusiasm to shoulder-shruddings and disparaging jokes, possibly even aggressions.

You can easily make a ribbon yourself, using white synthetic or silk cloth ribbon, of ca 10 mm breadth, and obtainable from sowing shops. Cut off a 12-15 cm piece, twist it into a loop and fasten it with a pin. We can also send you ribbons, leaflets and other material if you send us your address.

If you want to be more active than that, you may gather a group of likeminded men and start to think how you could stop the violence. You might eg distribute ribbons, arrange a discussion on violence or react to news, articles or programs dealing with violence. How active do you want to be ?

Can I, as a woman, join the campaign ? I have read about it and would be willing to start a campaign here. ... But when I talk about it I'm put off as a 'feminist' and I do realise that men would rather join a campaign led by men.

It must be emphasized that the fact that the campaign is driven by men is important, because the very fact that it is men who are active and visible serves as an example for other men. Too visible women brings about the risk that men will stamp the campaign as 'feministic' and put it off, a risk that the questioner herself seems to be aware of (this doesn't mean that our attitude towards the women's movement would be negative -- the goal of our Campaign is an equalitarian society where women wouldn't have to fear us men all the time).

We welcome women to spread information about the Campaign to potentially interested men, but after that you are advised to keep in the background and let us men do the 'preaching'.