Men for Gender Equality

Really happy that RSACC (Rape&Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre - Darlington & County Durham) have asked us to write a small piece for them in their blog. Please do check it out, and donate to RSACC if you can!

It's time for our latest Guest Blog, and this time we're hearing from Men for Gender Equality (M4GE) – a community in County Durham who are against all forms of gender-based violence ➡️ http://ow.ly/2eAp50J1aQJ Men for Gender Equality

We had to update the poster 😩Come join us this Monday 21st of February and share with people who might be interested 💛

How do we even begin to talk about s*x with Boys?? Join us in this event with the amazing , Ben Hurst from Beyond Equality and other invited guests! We will also hold a Teachers open discussion forum so you can tell us about your experience, ask questions and share your thoughts.
Sign up link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/talking-about-s*x-with-boys-beyond-equality-teacher-forum-tickets-262429532797

We had a fantastic morning talking to 200 year 13 pupils about Gender Based Violence (GBV), gender stereotypes and masculinities!

We were able to ask questions such as:
1) Have never felt pressure to conform to gender stereotypes?
2) How have gender stereotypes/ pressures impacted you?
3) What are some of the things you think you can do in your day to day life to challenge gender stereotypes and practice gender equality?

We strongly believe that by instigating these difficult to have conversations we can create a positive change within our community.

We had an excellent afternoon at Durham University today, meeting students and talking about engaging men in conversations surrounding gender equality and reducing gender based violence.

It was also fantastic to have our stalls alongside White Ribbon Campaign, Rape&Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre - Darlington & County Durham, Halo Project and the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (durham.ac.uk/criva). All these organisations are doing incredible work, and if you haven't heard of them already you should check them out!

A member of our group Stephen Burrell, along with his colleagues at Durham University, have written this excellent article for The Conversation. Check it out!

https://theconversation.com/sarah-everard-police-culture-and-the-masculinised-workplaces-we-can-all-help-change-169774

Sarah Everard, police culture and the 'masculinised' workplaces we can all help change The terrible murder of a British woman is a clear example of how our behaviour at work can be linked to violence against women.

October is . Elizabeth (Pease) Nicholl led the Darlington Ladies Anti-Slavery Society & was in this famous painting of the World Anti-Slavery Convention. As a women she was not allowed to speak . She was also a strong advocate for women’s suffrage.

It's heart-breaking that this post even needs to be made. Today Sarah Everard's murderer, a met police officer who used his police powers to abduct Sarah Everard, has been sentenced to a whole life sentence.

Whilst the below guidance for women and girls is necessary, the sad reality is that these are another set of rules for women and girls to follow that tackle the symptom of gender inequality and not the cause. The same set of rules that tells women to cover up, text their friends when they're home safe, not to walk alone at night, to hold their keys in their hands in case someone tries to grab them, to make sure they don't drink too much, not to leave their drink unattended... The list is endless.

Safety for women and girls won't come until there is cultural change that prevents men from perpetrating violence towards women. That cultural change won't happen until men stop seeing these issues as women's issues, and start participating in the conversations that have been overdue for far too long.

Talk to your mates, your sons, dads, brothers. Ask them about the issues of street harassment, misogyny, s*xual violence. As Beyond Equality have said, if there's anything men can do to be an ally in issues of social injustice, having one to one conversations has the most profound impact.

We, as men, need to do more.

OUR INBOXES are flooded this morning with the same heartbreaking question: "What do I advise women to do if they're approached by a lone, male police officer?" Our answer, in memory of is below...

Please note: this is by no means a perfect answer. Resisting arrest for a woman of colour especially, or a woman of visible faith, or with language barriers, may aggravate any given situation. What we really need is change coming from within - for rules to change so that NO male officer can arrest a woman from here on out without at least one officer onsite or called to the scene.

But until the Metropolitan Police Service issue a statement on changes that will be implemented and assurances as to timeframes, this is the best we can advise for now...

Some excellent take-away advice from Recognise Red and Beyond Equality here. We, as men, have such a vital role in reducing male violence towards women. It's time we recognise that and have conversations with our peers about issues of s*xual inequality.

The UK was subject to the worst mass shooting in 11 years on the 12th August. 5 innocent people have died, and 2 seriously injured as man used a shotgun to shoot people on the streets of Plymouth.

The motives for this dreadful attack will remain under scrutiny, however, what is clear is that the shooter had links with Incel culture. Who are these people who call themselves Incel?

Incel (short for involuntarily celibate) is a hate group.

They are men who blame their loneliness and lack of success in attracting women on women. They feel they are owed romantic and s*xual relationships by women, and because they do not get this, they turn to extreme hatred of women, which can lead to violent acts such as the dreadful attack we have seen in Plymouth.

Lets be absolutely clear: Women do not owe men anything. We, as men, MUST call out other men who make s*xist or degrading comments about women. When we ignore harmful comments made by other men, it is seen by those making these comments as acceptance. This must stop.

Here are some articles if you want to read more about this topic:

BBC - "Incels: A new terror threat to the UK?"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58207064

Independent - "A new terror threat? How Plymouth shooter delved into violent ‘incel’ subculture before massacre" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/plymouth-shootings-killings-incel-violence-b1902287.html?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3lF4LnmYVkIxR4KPCnrWaDKwpuhZFVw6YWdPeRq9dqDzXy2879zIhSc7Q =1628888835

Incels: A new terror threat to the UK? Is the incel belief system followed by Jake Davison, the Plymouth gunman, a terror threat to the UK?

We're looking for people in the Durham area to get involved with Men's Action!

Men's Action has been set up to reduce male violence against women and engage more men in the fight for gender equality. We are currently focussing on projects within Durham and the surrounding areas. We're looking for people who believe in our values to join us!

If you think you can spare 2 - 4 hours a month to Men's Action, or have any questions, then please get in touch as we would love to hear from you. Please message us on here, or send us an email at '[email protected]' .

One of our members Stephen Burrell has written a fantastic article on how Gareth Southgate has challenged the restrictive notions of masculinity with his leadership of the England football team.

Check it out here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/08/13/gareth-southgates-england-team-have-shown-us-more-caring-ways-of-being-a-man/

Gareth Southgate’s England team have shown us more caring ways of being a man - Transforming Society As the new Premier League season begins today, Stephen Burrell looks at how Gareth Southgate’s team have been challenging our restrictive notions of masculinity.

RSACC have been doing excellent work supporting female survivors in Durham and Darlington for the past 30 years! Happy Birthday! They started with just 3 volunteers and have steadily grown to offer a variety of support services for women and training for professionals.

How can us men support charities such as RSACC? We can:
- Share their social media posts to help spread the word of the fantastic work they do
- Donate to RSACC, either as a one off or a regular monthly payment here: https://www.rsacc-thecentre.org.uk/support/donate/
- Fundraise for RSACC https://www.rsacc-thecentre.org.uk/support/fundraising/
- Add Amazon Smile or Easyfundraising to your computer and you can donate money to RSACC every time you shop online, at no extra cost to you rsacc-thecentre.org.uk/support/shopping/

Thank you RSACC for the incredible work you do!

We've come a long way in 30 years with what support we can offer survivors. From telephone support to now 6 different support services.
But what more could we do?
What other services would you like to see being offered to survivors?
Let us know below.

Men for Gender Equality updated their information in their About section.

One of our members, Stephen Burrell, has created a new podcast which you might be interested in, called 'Now and Men: Current conversations about men's lives'. It explores issues of masculinity and gender equality, and how they connect to our lives in the 21st century. Each episode is based around a conversation with an expert about their work in this area and how they got involved, and the first one is with Dr Martin Robb from the Open University, looking at Men, Fatherhood and Caring for Children. You can listen to and follow it here: http://www.podfollow.com/now-and-men

Now and Men What's it like to be a man in the 21st century? How are feminist issues relevant to men? These questions are being discussed more than ever. Our new monthly podcast will delve into these issues with experts like practitioners, activists and researchers. In each episode, you’ll hear conversations a...

Welcome to Men's Action, a new community group in County Durham aiming to reduce male violence towards women and encourage healthy relationships with our peers.

Men's Action is run by members of the community in County Durham. We want to make our community safer by opening conversations about how we, as men, can tackle gender based violence, gender inequality, and promote healthy relationships with our peers.

One of the things we want to do as a group is support local organisations such as:

https://www.rsacc-thecentre.org.uk/
https://www.myharbour.org.uk/
http://www.wvwa.co.uk/

Please like our page and share with your friends. We will soon hold online meetings where we will talk about how to encourage cultural change towards gender equality within County Durham.

Finally, we'll leave you with this incredible TEDx by Ben Hurst at Beyond Equality, a charity who are working with men and boys towards gender equality, inclusive communities, and healthier relationships.

Thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dp08bAUwi8

Boys won’t be boys. Boys will be what we teach them to be. | Ben Hurst | TEDxLondonWomen Boys will be boys, right? Ben Hurst rejects this commonly-used phrase as a ‘get-out-of-jail free’ card for boys, men and toxic masculinities. Instead, he sta...