‘They failed us’: White Ribbon ditches ambassadors after O’Keefe loses medal

‘Real change doesn’t come from celebrity endorsement. It comes from everyday men,’ says domestic violence charity after TV star disaster.

White Ribbon Australia will no longer use ambassadors such as Andrew O’Keefe, leading them to shift their focus to community action groups. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

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Anti-domestic violence campaign group White Ribbon has abandoned its long-time practice of appointing prominent Australians as “ambassadors” after the Governor-General stripped former White Ribbon ambassador Andrew O’Keefe of his Order of Australia following drug and domestic violence convictions.

However, some domestic ­violence advocates worry the move is a “knee-jerk reaction”.

White Ribbon Australia said its reliance on public figures and ambassadors “failed us”, and it was shifting its focus to community action groups.

“Real change doesn’t come from celebrity endorsement. It comes from everyday men,” White Ribbon Australia chief executive Merinda March said.

“The voice of lived experience is imperative in all of this.”

The organisation has abandoned the ambassador program to return to the core of why White Ribbon began.

“It’s not up to individuals, it’s up to the collective community,” Ms March said.

“We’re calling men and boys in so they feel safe to call out the behaviour they’re seeing in peer groups, sporting clubs, at home (and) in schools.”

White Ribbon Australia CEO Merinda March says the organisation will abandon its ‘ambassadors’ model, saying change is ‘up to the collective community’.

The change comes as former television presenter O’Keefe was stripped of his Order of Australia following a large number of complaints about his entitlement to the honour.

In recent years, O’Keefe has faced drug and domestic violence charges and last year he pleaded guilty to trespassing, breaching an apprehended violence order and meth possession.

He was found guilty in January last year of the “frightening and degrading” attack on a woman and was sentenced to a 12-month and three 18-month community corrections orders.

O’Keefe has had no affiliation with White Ribbon since.

A former MP and footballer, and prominent advocate against gender-based violence, Phil Cleary, has welcomed White Ribbon revisiting their place in the fight against domestic violence. However, he expressed concern it was a “knee-jerk reaction to Andrew O’Keefe”.

“It’s one thing to do that, it’s another to have a genuine place in the campaign at community level,” Mr Cleary said.

“These generic advertising, talking-head campaigns – they are a waste of time. We need to be in the community..”

Since Phil Cleary’s sister, Vicki Cleary was killed by her former partner, he has actively campaigned against violence against women. Mr Cleary expressed his frustration at White Ribbon Australia and its lack of engagement with those personally impacted by domestic violence. Picture: Tony Gough

Mr Cleary said he had a “frustrating” history with White Ribbon Australia and criticised the organisation’s past failure to engage with campaigners and those with lived experience, such as himself. He lost his sister Vicki Cleary in 1987 when she was killed by her former partner.

“I used to get generic emails from them saying ‘Dear Phil, do you know one woman a week is murdered?’” Mr Cleary said.

“Do you understand what it’s like sending an email like that to the brother of a murdered woman?”

Dumping the “flawed” ambassadorial campaign is something Mr Cleary believes White Ribbon Australia should have done long ago and he hopes it is a step in the right direction.

“There’s nothing wrong with having public figures, we need public figures … but (they) need to be trained, advised and educated to properly understand the context and the fabric of violence against women,” Mr Cleary said.