Young people have been learning how they can play their part in challenging misogyny and gender-based violence.

White Ribbon Ambassadors Barney Mitcheson, Jonathan Dakin and Mike Wesley recently visited Dane Valley Scouts to run an interactive session exploring gender stereotypes, sexism and how misogyny can develop online and offline.

The workshop is part of Congleton's work as a White Ribbon Town, with the goal of helping to eradicate men's violence against women and all forms of gender-based violence and abuse in the town.

Scout leader and White Ribbon ambassador Barney said: "The Scouts were fantastic. They really engaged with what can sometimes be a difficult subject and, most importantly, thought seriously about what they themselves could do if they saw sexism, harassment or inappropriate behaviour.

"All the Scouts contributed super positively on all the activities we tasked them with during the evening and understood the importance and relevance of this topic to them.

"White Ribbon is not just about recognising that there is a problem. It is about giving people the confidence and practical tools to challenge the attitudes and behaviours that can lead to harassment and violence. Scouts, and all young people, have a really important part to play in creating that change."

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The workshop reflected the message of this year's White Ribbon campaign, 'It Takes All of Us'.

A particular focus was the influence of social media and AI on young people. The Scouts discussed how algorithms can expose boys to misogynistic material online, sometimes when they are searching for completely unrelated content, and how online culture can reinforce damaging stereotypes and attitudes towards both boys and girls.

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Working in groups, they were given realistic scenarios and asked to identify what was wrong, consider how they might respond and think about what can make it difficult to intervene. They then acted out both the original situation and how someone could step in to help.

The Scouts were also introduced to the '4 Ds' of being an active bystander - four practical ways of responding when they see inappropriate behaviour:

• Direct, by safely challenging the behaviour
• Distract, by interrupting or changing the situation
• Delegate, by asking someone else such as a Scout Leader, teacher or another person in authority to help
• Delay, by checking with the person affected and offering support.

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The Scouts put their learning into practice through a series of activities, including a 4D Challenge, where they developed different responses to examples of sexist behaviour, and a 'What would YOU do?' exercise where they chose how they would respond to different situations.

The evening ended by looking at the White Ribbon Promise - to never use, excuse or remain silent about men's violence against women - before the Scouts were challenged to come up with ideas for their own Scouts' White Ribbon motto, and ideas they will take forward from this session.

Councillor Kay Wesley, chair of the Congleton Town Council Community Committee and a White Ribbon champion, said: "Congleton Town Council's White Ribbon Group has worked with schools, churches, community groups and businesses and it is a natural next step to engage our youth groups.

"This fun and informal workshop worked well and many thanks to the three Ambassadors and Dane Valley Scouts for such a successful evening.

"We invite other youth groups or sports clubs to run a similar workshop and would be happy to facilitate this. Just get in touch with the Town Council to arrange a session."