A nationwide campaign calling on men to use their voices to speak up in their everyday lives to help prevent men’s violence against women and girls has launched to mark White Ribbon Day 2025 – featuring a powerful new portrait series which has been unveiled as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

The "We Speak Up" campaign features men from every corner of the UK – from Wales to London, Cambridge to Manchester and beyond – who have stepped forward to challenge the culture of harassment, misogyny and harmful gender stereotypes.

To mark the launch, a number of the featured White Ribbon Ambassadors travelled to Milton Keynes, where the portraits have gone on public display in an exhibition at centre:mk, one of the largest shopping centres in the UK. They were joined by award-winning photographer Claudia Janke, who captured the imagery, alongside an audience of sixty representatives from local government and community and civil society organisations including the leader of Milton Keynes council, who opened the exhibition and London Northwestern and West Midlands Railway who sponsored the exhibition.

The collaboration between charity White Ribbon UK and Claudia Janke spotlights 16 men – ​​from a firefighter to an apprentice and a family lawyer – with the number chosen to represent the 16 Days of Activism – who are united in the goal to stop violence before it starts. The campaign comes as statistics reveal that 1 in 4 women will be the victim of sexual assault or attempted assault in their lifetime*.

The newly released images, which were created using a traditional instant box camera, serve as a visual celebration of allyship. Each portrait is accompanied by a short video in which the men share their motivation for speaking up. Among those featured is Sal Naseem, 49, former Director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), who investigated high-profile cases of police-perpetrated violence.

Speaking at the launch event, Sal said: “When I started on the journey, I was kidding myself about how good a male ally I was. Not through intention, but through ignorance. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. The starting place is honesty with yourself and building out from that. Having conversations with the people you trust in your life and moving from intention to some form of action.”

Claudia Janke, the London-based artist who created the portrait series, has spent more than two decades documenting human rights movements worldwide. Claudia said: “After two decades working on projects highlighting violence against women and girls, I created this project to call men in as allies. Through this work, I finally met men willing to step up, who understood that it starts with them and that it is their responsibility to be part of the change. Hearing their motivations and seeing their commitment was moving and powerful.”

Also in attendance was Lynne Elliot, Chief Executive of White Ribbon UK, who said: “It’s brilliant to see men speaking up in their role as White Ribbon UK Ambassadors. We’re seeing more men from all backgrounds using their voices to stand up for women and girls in everyday situations, and our ambassadors help make speaking up the norm. Every time someone stays silent, it’s a missed opportunity to stand up for what’s right.”

Sponsored by London Northwestern and West Midlands Railway, the physical exhibition is on display at centre:mk in Milton Keynes until 10th December 2025. However, the campaign is also available to view online at https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/wespeakup, with a new Ambassador video released daily during the 16 Days of Activism.

A short film introducing the campaign can be viewed here:

*According to statistics reported by the National Audit Office in 2025.