Building Safer Workplaces During the 16 Days of Activism

Every year, from 25 November to 10 December, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence provides an opportunity to raise awareness, start conversations, and stand together against violence and abuse.

For organisations, the 16 Days can be a moment to pause and ask a challenging question:

What are we doing to support safe and supportive environments, both inside and outside our office buildings?

Safety is part of everyday life. It's about feeling comfortable travelling alone, walking through our communities, attending social events, using public spaces, or simply being able to go about our day without fear of harassment, intimidation, or violence.

The conversation about safety therefore needs to extend beyond the workplace. As we mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, it is an opportunity to think more broadly about what safety means, and what role we can all play in creating environments where everyone can feel safe, wherever they are.

From Awareness to Action

Creating a safe environment does not happen by accident. It's built through awareness, education, everyday behaviours, and the confidence to know what to do when something doesn't feel right.

For organisations, this can mean going beyond policies and procedures and giving people practical tools they can use in their everyday lives.

A workplace safety policy can tell employees what support is available.

A meaningful Personal Safety & Self-Protection Training can help them understand how to recognise risk, respond to challenging situations, set boundaries, look out for others, and make informed decisions.

This is where corporate safety education can make a real difference.

Safety Education Designed Around Your People

Different people may experience different risks depending on their circumstances, environment, identity, role, or lifestyle. Someone who regularly travels for work may have different concerns from someone who works primarily from home. A woman travelling alone may have different considerations from her male colleague. LGBTQ+ employees, minority groups, or employees working in unfamiliar environments may also have specific experiences that are worth acknowledging.

That is why Bespoke Personal Safety & Awareness Sessions for your Employees can be so valuable.

These could include:

• Personal safety sessions for all employees, covering practical awareness, confidence, boundaries, risk recognition, and everyday safety.

• Women's personal safety workshops, addressing situations women may encounter when travelling, commuting, socialising, or working alone.

• Safety sessions for LGBTQ+ employees, exploring personal safety and confidence in different environments while recognising the importance of inclusion and individual experience.

• Bespoke sessions for minority and underrepresented groups, creating space to discuss specific concerns and experiences in a supportive environment.

• Business travel safety sessions, helping employees feel more prepared and confident when travelling for work, especially in unknown or difficult environments.

• Leadership and manager sessions, helping leaders understand how they can support a culture where people feel safe to speak up and seek help.

• Interactive safety conferences or awareness events, bringing employees together for a broader conversation around personal safety, inclusion, confidence, and wellbeing.

The format can be adapted to the organisation — from a keynote or conference session to smaller, interactive workshops or targeted programmes.

Giving Employees Practical Tools

The value of safety education is not simply in raising awareness. It is about giving people practical knowledge they can take with them beyond the session.

Employees can leave with greater awareness of their surroundings, a better understanding of boundaries and risk, and more confidence in how to respond to uncomfortable or challenging situations.

Just as importantly, these sessions can create conversations that might not otherwise happen.

They can give employees permission to talk about safety, ask questions, share experiences, and understand where they can turn for further support.

For organisations, this can complement existing employee wellbeing, inclusion, safeguarding, and health and safety initiatives — providing a practical and engaging experience that employees can use in their everyday lives.

Creating Safer Spaces for Everyone

Good personal safety education should help people feel more confident, informed, and empowered.

It should not place the responsibility for preventing violence on those who may experience it. Instead, it should help create a culture where everyone understands their role in creating safer environments — whether that means recognising inappropriate behaviour, supporting a colleague, challenging harmful attitudes, or knowing how to access support.

For organisations, offering tailored safety training can be a meaningful way to demonstrate that employee wellbeing extends beyond the office.

It says: we care about your safety, wherever you are.

Safety Beyond the Workplace

Corporate responsibility doesn't stop when an employee leaves the building.

People continue to represent an organisation while travelling, attending events, commuting, meeting clients, socialising with colleagues, or simply living their lives.

That creates an opportunity for businesses to think differently about employee wellbeing, not just in terms of what happens during working hours, but how they can equip their people with knowledge and confidence that can benefit them every day.

A strong organisation is one that invests not only in what its people do, but in the people themselves.

Moving Beyond the 16 Days

The 16 Days of Activism provides an important moment to raise awareness and start conversations. But creating safer environments cannot be limited to 16 days of the year.

It is an ongoing commitment to respect, dignity, inclusion, confidence, and support.

For organisations, that commitment can take many forms — from policies and support services to bespoke personal safety training, employee workshops, conferences, and awareness programmes.

The important thing is to keep the conversation going and turn awareness into practical action.

Ultimately, strong organisations, strong teams, and strong communities have something in common: they create environments where people feel safe enough to participate, contribute, speak up, and be themselves.

This 16 Days of Activism, let's think beyond awareness and ask what more we can do — as individuals, organisations, and communities — to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to feel safe.

Because safety shouldn't depend on where you are. It should be something we all have a role in creating, wherever life takes us.

Let's Start the Conversation

Every organisation is different, and so are the people within it. That is why we offer bespoke personal safety sessions, workshops and conferences designed around the needs of your employees and the communities you serve.

We can work with you to create a session that is relevant, practical and engaging.

If you would like to explore how we could support your organisation, get in touch to arrange a consultation call. Together, we can discuss your objectives, understand the needs of your people, and explore what a bespoke safety programme could look like for your organisation.

I look forward to starting a conversation with your organisation.

Email us: joanna@womenselfdefence.uk

Joanna

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