White Ribbon New Zealand has new toolboxes for fathers - to support them developing their son’s respectful sexual behaviour. These toolboxes, one for young fathers and another for older dads, are available on https://whiteribbon.org.nz/toolbox/
On the same webpage there are short videos of several White Ribbon ambassadors discussing the top five tips for dads.
Supporting fathers is a new approach for White Ribbon. When they were testing last year’s messages it emerged that fathers were very uncomfortable about talking to their sons about sexual consent. Further research with a much larger group of men identified that:
- Fathers are twice as likely to talk to their sons about finding a job than about the importance of consent in sexual relationships.
- Nearly half of fathers never discuss this with their sons.
- When fathers have daughters, they’re more likely to regularly discuss sexual consent and what’s OK with them.
This is a missed opportunity for violence prevention and White Ribbon’s toolboxes encourage fathers to take a lead with their sons. It also supports them to be actively involvement in raising their kids.