The Rights Of Man

MEN ARE HUMAN TRAFFICKED TOO

Many readers emailed in today to highlight the article in the Guardian based on research by the Salvation Army that:

"Men account for more than two-fifths (41%) of adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales helped by the Salvation Army, contrary to the public perception that the crime almost exclusively affects women."

The Men's Network's Glen Poole sums it all up here with a cracking commentary about the issue and how the Salvation Army won the contract because of their commitment to hep men and women. Eaves lost out because they were just about women.

What would be good to see is that more publicity is actually made about men trafficked for their labour. This case shows what happens about men as slaves and there was never much an outcry about it. Or this from the BBC. Perhaps we will see more leadership from the government in actually speaking out about it and when they do it is in the terms of that it affects men and women. No more debates and publicity campaigns just about women being trafficked.

The Salvation Army also carry out a lot of good work with homeless men and women and also men and women made homeless due to domestic abuse. This organisation is one that just goes about meeting it objectives to help people.

Posted by Skimmington

BBC'S NEWSNIGHT DOES NOT BELIEVE TEENAGE BOYS ARE ALSO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE

Seeing the horrific experiences that Taylah went through on Newsnight (34 minutes in) was quite distressing as were the experiences of Armanie  - who was victim during a same-sex relationship (How do Women's Aid and Refuge deal with that ideologically?). No one for any minute wishes to belittle their stories but what strikes anyone looking at the report is that it fails to mention domestic/partner abuse against teenage boys - whether in a heterosexual or gay relationship.

Troubling is the issue that the facts the BBC use throughout the video and also where they cover the story online are all from Women's Aid and the Home Office and only highlight female figures.

Certainly, from the British Crime Survey every figure for a woman has a male equivalent (see ManKind Initiative 21 key facts) so saying that 1 million women were victims in 2011 is fine  as a statistic (it was 1.2 million) but then deliberately choosing not to state that 800,000 men also suffered that year is sexist.

It is sexism by omission because the producers and researchers of the piece must have consciously chosen not to include male teenagers and male equivalent figures when the figures for women are from the same source and the same table (ManKind's source list indicate page 101 here). The BBC also say 30% of women have suffered from domestic abuse since 16 but so have 17% of men - again in the same British Crime Survey reports.

The statistics on the Newsnight report also refer to refuge and funding cuts. No one wants to see refuge cuts and women being turned away but there are hardly any refuges for men to be turned away from or services to be cut. That is never tackled.

Keeping on the statistics front - it was good that BBC raised the issue of teenage abuse but again as the British Crime Survey shows for 2009/10 - 12.7% of 16-19 year old women are victims of domestic abuse (7.3% partner abuse) but 6.2% (3.6%) of men are too in that age group - one in every three.

Why does the BBC not mention that?

The whole commentary on the piece was about support for female teenage victims. If Newsnight had not produced a sexist report it would have been about teenage women and male victims.

Male teenagers do not even get a look in (the Home Office's £2 million pound campaign about teenage partner abuse did not implore girls not to hit boyfriends, or girlfriends for that matter).

This is a continuation of a trend where the BBC and other parts of the media one minute ensure male victims are mentioned  - BBC Breakfast makes great play about it  (even the Guardian do here but the the Telegraph do not - even for the same story on legal aid), but then they take one massive retrograde step backwards.

Newsnight story was another classic piece of sexual and gender discrimination against men - this time male teenagers who are victims of domestic abuse.

You can tell the frustration from teenage boys or those men who were victims of domestic abuse when they were a teenager about not being included through the comments on the Radio 1 Extra piece. Those frustrations show sexual discrimination against male victims of domestic abuse is alive and kicking.

Posted by Skimmington

WHY DID SEXIST CANCER RESEARCH IGNORE PROTESTS FROM MEN BUT ACCEPTS PROTESTS FROM WOMEN

The wonderful news that Cancer Research UK has changed its rules to allow boys 11 and under take part in its Race for Life is a real victory for Claire Parker and a big thank you for her campaigning in making it happen (Derbyshire Times, Civil Society , Look North and previous coverage - Derbyshire Times).

There are a number of points to make.

The most significant issue is that John Taylor has been campaigning to allow men take part in the Race for Life for a decade. This was in response to his daughter who sadly died from cancer. Complaints to the organisation, complaint to Advertising Standards Authority and others such as the Fundraising Standards Board have gone unheeded. Even the sexist Equalities and Human Rights Commission ensured the Equality Act was modified allow it.

So nothing changes and then Claire launches her complaint and succeeds. Great. But what it does say is that Cancer Research and others were comfortable about dismissing the protests of a man but when it comes to a woman complaining about men (and boys) being banned they give in. What it shows is that not only that Cancer Research have been found to be guilty of sexism in terms of banning men (and still are sexist for banning men and boys aged over 11) they have also been found guilty of sexism because they ignored John Taylor's protests based solely on the fact that he is a man. If Claire Parker was Clive Parker, Cancer Research would not have crumbled.

Other points are of course is there is still the ban on men (and boys over 11) from taking part and Claire has already said she wants that overturned.

The advertising of course, which is everywhere and helped by Tesco's sponsorship, does not mention that men are banned. No mention on the home page of the website. If Cancer Research are comfortable that men are banned why not say it openly - why try and hide it - is it because they do not want to be so obvious about their sexism?

The comments made by Cancer Research UK about why they originally said to Claire that her son could not run was because women felt uncomfortable with young boys running with them is beyond laughable - it is like women do not have sons, brothers, husbands/boyfriends and fathers. Race organisers had told Claire that Connor couldn’t take part in the female-only event as some women felt “uncomfortable” when boys were allowed to join in the race last year. At the time, Claire blasted the “disgusting and discriminatory” move. The fact that Cancer Research UK felt OK to say women found it uncomfortable shows how easy it is to make such misandric lies up and think you can get away with it.

The last point is really that you would expect lots of media coverage on this considering it is a national event. Where is the coverage in the Guardian - or even on Mumsnet?

All in all, well done to Claire and also to John Taylor for a partial victory but we need complete victory because all we want is equality.

Posted by Skimmington 

WILL MALE CIRCUMCISION IN BRITAIN NOW BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY?

The Sunday Times reported today (link via Sunday Telegraph, Sky video and Daily Mail) that as many as 100,000 have had their genitals mutilated. Very sad and unacceptable. But there still continues to be a conspiracy of silence on the issue of male circumcision.

This case raises the issue and Peter Baker of the Men's Health Forum has called for a public debate which will be further aided by the conference on the subject being run by Glen Poole of the Men's Network. The excellent NORM-UK has been leading the way and this site commented on it nearly a year ago.

The issue though for men continues to be ignored by the media, government and other 'equality' campaigners.

Ending female genital mutilation has been a focus for the government certainly under its Ending Violence Against Women and Children strategy (the strategy that treats men as second class victims in everything). But where is the focus or even mention of men and boys who have suffered in this way. Nothing. In many parts of the world this mutilation of boys is normal (see end*)

Does the Sunday Times article or the other coverage today and no doubt tomorrow as the story will now continue througout the week mention men and boys. When with the mutilation if men and boys get a mention as part of this story.

The work undertaken by Norm-UK, The Men's Network and the Men's Health Forum will certainly now start to put it on the agenda and well played to those groups for doing so. The fact that men's groups are now coming together and argue sensibly for change and running conferences themselves shows the strength and confidence that the men and women in these groups now have as they get a grip by  sensible and rational protest issue raising.

What we hope to see is an equivalent story about the number of men and boys mutilated in this way at some time soon. We then will know that equality is starting to take root.

Posted by Skimmington

 * Watching Celebrity Big Brother (long story - don't ask) the American Twins said it was normal that all men in America were circumcised! 

ANGIOLINI COMMISSION TO END EQUAL JUSTICE IN SCOTLAND

A continuing theme is how radical feminist campaigners continually show their true colours in believing that equality should not apply to men and women but that women should have more rights than men.

One of the most pernicious areas is within the field of justice and while justice is supposedly blind, it is now well and truly infiltrated by radical feminists who do not believe so. Some of these radical feminists are also men who have a guilt complex about their own gender.

This review from last year shows where we end up and where you get people like Norgrove feeling more comfortable coming out against shared parenting in the family law system than growing some cojones and saying what is logical and equal. 

What makes things worse is that the examples keep on coming.

Exhibit 1: Angiolini Commission calls for closure of Scotland's only women-only prison: At no stage does this article or others like it actually look at the issue why women are going to prison in comparison to men.

It makes out that every women who goes to prison is somehow a 'victim' rather than a perpetrator of crime.

Also it comes back to the issue that there is no proof that some women in are prison for 'low-level' crime while men guilty of the same 'low-level' crime are not in prison. If that is not the case, then there can be no reason in terms of equality and fairness why women should not be in prison for 'low-level' cirme but it is OK that men are.

I suspect this is the sort of 'low-level' crime the commission talks about.

Exhibit 2: Honeytrap case: This documented case continues to garner much coverage and a campaign has been set up about the ludicrously low sentence - mainly reduced based on an allegation of rape, never proven (and he cannot defend himself as he was murdered) and never any evidence ever brought forward. The family have asked the attorney general to review the case - lets see what the response is.

Both cases show further proof about the institutional discrimination men face in the justice system where justice is no longer blind.

Posted by Skimmington

NEWS UPDATE

Really sorry I have been away, work has been mad and the computer melted but should be back to normal. Here a few updates: 

The Guardian - Postnatally depressed dads, give me a break(Barbara Ellen) and Ally Fogg's reply to this nasty little article.

Daily Telegraph - Aggressive female board members take more risks then men (Anna White) and Guido Fawkes dismantle another anti-male myth. The Guardian does nto cover this report unsurprisingly.

Daily Mail - Why more girls are marrying down (Claire Ellicott)

Men's Network - Conference 2012 update: The must-go event of the year, better than Glastonbury and the Olympics!

The Guardian - Feminists hail explosion fo grassroots groups (Alexandra Topping): When will the Guardina cover the explosion of men's grassroots groups?

Daily Mail - Transsexual makes 19th false rape claim (Rob Cooper): No mention of the men who have been falsely accused

Daily Mail - Seeing their men upset makes women happy

Posted by Skimmington