BOSTON, March 7, 2013—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today led a State House auditorium full of men in a pledge to take a stand against violence against women as part of an annual statewide campaign.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley (center, at podium) leads the Massachusetts State House’s Gardner Auditorium in a pledge “to be part of the solution in ending violence against women.” Conley co-chaired this year’s campaign, organized by Jane Doe, Inc., to involve men in the effort to stop sexual and domestic violence.

Conley co-chaired this year’s Massachusetts White Ribbon Day campaign, launched in 2008 by Jane Doe, Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. Jane Doe Inc. adopted the White Ribbon Campaign because, while cases of sexual and domestic violence can involve victims and offenders from every walk of life, men have a unique role to play in ending male violence against women.

“Far and away, most men will tell you honestly that they’d never hit a woman,” Conley said to a crowd at the State House’s Gardner Auditorium this afternoon. “But that’s not enough in an age when boys and young men are bombarded with imagery that encourages aggressive and dominating behavior toward their partners. We need to take an active role in discouraging that behavior whenever and wherever we see it. So I want to say this to all the young men here today: You don’t have to limit yourself to a stereotype. You can show strength in your relationships without showing violence. You can show commitment to your partner without using control. And you can be a man without ever hurting a woman.”

The International White Ribbon Campaign began after the 1989 massacre in Montreal of 14 women by a man who claimed to be “fighting feminism.”  Jane Doe Inc. brought the campaign to Massachusetts to invite men and boys to be leaders in ending violence against women.

“And when we talk about ending violence against women, we have to start with men and boys,” Conley said.

After hearing from 2013 White Ribbon Campaign Co-Chair Jarrett Barrios, CEO of the American Red Cross of Eastern New England; Department of Children and Families Commissioner Angelo McClain; Antonio Arrendel of Boston University; the Somerville-based youth arts group Books of Hope; and others, Conley led those assembled this afternoon in the Massachusetts White Ribbon Day pledge:

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley gives the “thumbs up” to Jane Doe, Inc., and this year’s White Ribbon Day campaign, which asks men and boys to take a stand against violence against women. Conley co-chaired this year’s campaign and delivered welcoming remarks at the State House today.

“From this day forward, I promise to be part of the solution in ending violence against women.”

To learn more about Massachusetts White Ribbon Day, visit www.whiteribbonday.janedoe.org.

–30–