Buckinghamshire ‘Speaks Up’ against stalking

Buckinghamshire Council is proud to support White Ribbon Day 2025, the UK’s leading campaign to end violence against women and girls (VAWG).

White Ribbon Day takes place annually on November 25 and the theme for this year is “We Speak Up” — a powerful call to action encouraging everyone, especially men and boys, to challenge sexist or harmful behaviour that can escalate into harassment, stalking, or abuse.

At the heart of the campaign is a focus on stalking awareness and spotting the signs. To support this, the Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse Board held its annual conference on 17 November, themed ‘Recognising and Responding Effectively to Stalking’. Over 120 professionals attended, hearing from speakers including Clive Ruggles, father of Alice Ruggles, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2016.

The council is working closely with Thames Valley Police and local partners to share the ‘Think FOUR’ model, helping people to recognise stalking behaviours.

Think. Is the behaviour Fixated, Obsessed, Unwanted and Repeated? If the answer is “yes” and the unwanted behaviour has happened more than once, it is stalking and should be reported quickly before it escalates.

Steve Bowles, Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet Member for Communities, said:

“As an accredited White Ribbon Organisation, we take a zero-tolerance approach to domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.

“Statistics tell us that 57 people experience domestic abuse in Buckinghamshire every day, and that’s 57 too many. If we all learn to recognise the warning signs, we can tackle domestic abuse at the first opportunity or even stop it before it starts.

“We are dedicated to raising awareness so that residents know how to spot the signs of domestic abuse and VAWG, and have the confidence to speak up and the knowledge to signpost victims to appropriate support.

“Please stand with us and the victims, and take the White Ribbon Promise 'to never use, excuse or remain silent about violence against women and girls'. Together we can help provide the safe environment we strive for, and we can do this by speaking up if something doesn’t feel right.”

Demonstrating its commitment to ending men’s violence towards women and girls, the council is currently running free ‘Tackling and preventing Domestic Abuse’ training courses that are open to everyone. To find out more visit: bucksdap.org.uk

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse, contact the Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse Services Helpline on 01296 437777 (24/7).

For more information and resources, visit the Buckinghamshire Domestic Abuse Partnership website.