Men Step Up as Allies in Fight Against Gender Violence

When photographer Claudia Janke set out to capture portraits of male allies fighting gender-based violence, she wanted to meet the men who actually stand up for women in dangerous moments.

What she found gave her hope. For a White Ribbon exhibition in Milton Keynes, London, Janke photographed 16 men nominated by women in their communities for their exceptional allyship.

Every year on November 25, over 60 countries celebrate White Ribbon Day, an annual campaign dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. But this movement takes a different approach: it focuses on mentoring young men about compassionate masculinity rather than simply calling out bad behavior.

"For too long men's roles in this equation have primarily been seen as perpetrators or potential perpetrators," the White Ribbon Campaign stated in a recent report. The organization believes understanding the root causes of toxic masculinity is key to prevention.

Among the men featured in Janke's exhibit was Sal Naseem, a former regional director who dedicated his career to investigating police violence against women. He pointed to a stark reality: a fifth of all recorded crime in England and Wales involves men's violence against women and girls.

Naseem has witnessed firsthand how women's voices get ignored in male-dominated spaces. "When a man steps in and intervenes and calls that out or supports the women, it's really powerful," he explained. "That sort of allyship makes an imprint."

The Ripple Effect

The White Ribbon movement is expanding globally by targeting early intervention and education programs aimed at young men. By connecting understanding of masculinity with prevention work, they're creating new paradigms for ending gender-based violence.

For Janke, the project shifted her perspective after years of experiencing harassment herself. She's one of the seven out of 10 women who face harassment in public places.

"I wanted to actually meet people who stand up for us in these situations," she said. "The men in this exhibition are doing exactly that."

These allies prove that men don't have to be bystanders or perpetrators in the fight against gender violence.