The Rights Of Man

WHY DOES THE COALITION ON MEN & BOYS DO DOWN MEN & BOYS?

In 2007, a group called the Men's Coalition was set up by a number of public funded organisations who  speak up for men. The organisation mutated into the Coalition on Men & Boys and its members include the Fatherhood Institute, Men's Advice Line, Men's Health Forum, Relate, Respect and the White Ribbon Campaign.

A month or so ago they produced a report called Man Made: Men, Masculinities and Boys which attempts to "provide a unique, in-depth picture of the circumstances and needs of men and boys."

So far so good you would think, but as ever, it depends what lens you are looking through and the lens in this report is one that on one hand says public policy needs to ensure it better meets the need of men (good), but then blames and patronises men and is guilty of making some serious and glaring omissions. It is based on the fact that men need to change not that society or public policy needs to.

The 158 page report says that men need help but bases this on a feminist world-view (it says "The report draws significantly upon feminist scholarship" page 19) and throughout suggests that men need to change to help women, children and men themselves. Indeed, it keeps coming back to the theme that male dominance in positions of power (which is reducing all the time) means that men have to be more aware of gender equality and to stop blocking and being sexist towards women.

In addition, in key areas it fails to address the key problems of discrimination or the lack of help for men and boys such as education (exam results) and issues such as domestic violence, forced marriage,  and the bias of the family courts. It only really excels in the area of health which will be down to the Men's Health Forum's input.

It says that the Coalition of Men and Boys is committed to work with women's groups, but whilst at face value we should all be working for gender equality, the basis for this statement is to patronise and not recognise the discrimination that men regularly face in their lives. Would such a report on Women & Girls state that it would like to work with men's groups, I very much doubt it.

In fact, some of the things it says are a bizarre for a report and organisation purporting to be on the side of men. An example includes:-

"The Government's Equalities Dept and Equalities Commission should establish designated policy and research positions focusing on how men and boys can contribute to tackling gender and other inequalities." This though is about men and boys pushing a female equalities agenda and has nothing to do with helping men and boys in terms improving access to health, improved examination results etc?

There is plenty of mentions of a Minister for Women but the report does not mention that it is unequal therefore not to have a Minister for Men.

In addition, "it admits that the Government has no strategy or have not been a work stream within the work of the Women's Unit (page 33). This is partly due to lack of resources but probably also to the relative invisibility of masculinity as a gender issue". No mention of course to the fact that why would a Women's Unit look at supporting men and of course, no irony is given in the report to the fact there is no resources. The report mentions it but does not condemn it.

It's key policy-specific recommendations (page 16) on work, fatherhood and education do not mention the bias in the family law court system (the report in Chapter 6 rejects that men get a raw deal in the family court system), the poor results of boys in the context of a lack of male teachers and the switch from exam-related O' Levels to course-based GCSE's (it rejects the notion that the lack of male teachers is a problem) and domestic violence - it makes no mention of male victims and the lack fo support they receive.

It even says that the proposals in the Equalities Bill to allow men to be discriminated against in the workplace are 'mild' (page 41). Not if you are a man who is discriminated against.

The health section is the only one that could be said to be positive in that it demands more that the health authorities not only do more to educate men about male heath issues but also that an assessment of services is needed to ensure they are there to support men.

Overall, the report is negative about men and boys, it patronises them, wants them to change (to be less masculine)  and does not confront, on purpose, the obvious problems that men face in areas such in education and elsewhere.

The report is a wasted opportunity and one that look at the problems that men face not through a male lens but one that believes men are a negative force in the UK.

Editors Note

There are many references in the report to the "men's rights movement". References include

"..There are some risks in involving men in gender equality strategies" (page 12)

"Some men are resistant to change - especially if the proposed changes entail giving up some privileges (better pay than women) and result in them having less power at work and in the home. The emergence in recent decades of a range of vocal 'men's rights' groups, both in the UK and internationally, is evidence to this." (page 12)

"It should not be assumed, however, that all men and boys share the same hostile approach of many 'men's rights activists to the progress of women and girls" (page 26)

These accusations, probably aimed at this site and other organisations/sites are a disgraceful slur not backed by any evidence. This is a example of using a report to try and trash people who believe that equality should actually mean equality for both men and women. If the reports authors can find anything on this site that is anti-women, then they will not find it.

Editors Apology #1

In this post I originally called the Coalition - Coalition of Men & Boys but as Bob rightly pointed out (see comments) I was sorely mistaken. It is the Coalition on Men & Boys, a subtle mistake but one that is vital to be aware of because it shows emphatically and with more clarity that it is not a coalition about supporting men & boys at all. It is a coalition that hectors men & boys.

THREE IN EVERY FOUR SUICIDES ARE MEN

Figures from the Office of National Statistics early this year showed that of the 5,377 poor people who committed suicide during 2007, 4,085 were men and 1,292 were women. It means for every four people who take their own life, three are men. Over statistics are here and here.

This sad statistic shows that the Government and health agencies need to ensure they have the support services available to help depressed men and of course women.

What is of concern is the scant attention this situation receives and the fear is that whilst the figures in 2007 were the lowest recorded (since 1991), the present recession is likely to see an increase.

Previous posts on this subject can be found here and here.

NEW BOOK - VENUS: THE DARK SIDE by ROY SHEPPARD AND MARY CLEARY

Roy Sheppard (former BBC TV and radio presenter) apprd and Mary Cleary (founder of Ireland's excellent Amen Project) have written a book on female predators called Venus: The Dark Side.

In addition, there is a youtube channel and also a dedicated web-site.

The book on how unscrupulous women do it. Helpful to men and fascinating to women, Venus: The Dark Side catalogues for the first time, how unscrupulous women attack innocent men, women (primarily mothers against daughters) and children; physically, financially, psychologically and even sexually. And in so many cases, they know how to get away with it. But how do you recognise their covert behaviour? How can you tell if she is preying on YOU?

Venus: The Dark Side is a practical guide on how to recognise the signs and provides detailed help and advice on what you can do (and NOT do) to extricate yourself from her clutches. Already described as Required reading for all young men today , the book also includes a Due Diligence Checklist to limit the risks of marrying one of these women. This checklist is equally valuable to women. With a UK divorce rate at 57%, anyone planning to marry would be well advised to study it.

 And what about the men who are already married to one of the women described in this book what can they expect when it comes to the divorce? The authors offer detailed protection strategies. 

 

IS ANTI-MALE BRITAIN DRIVING INCREASE IN BULLYING?

One of the most disturbing news stories last week was the news from the NSPCC via their What Boys Talk About To Childline report that the number of boys calling their Childline has more than doubled in the past five years.

Their key findings included:-

Between 2002/03 and 2007/08, the annual number of boys counselled by ChildLine more than doubled, from 24,823 to 58,311.

The boy-to-girl ratio of callers has increased from one boy to every four calls from girls, to one in very two.

Bullying was the single biggest reason for boys calling.

Disturbingly, there was a high number of boys reporting sexual abuse and the number of boys ringing because they were depressed, lacked self-esteem or lonely had increased fivefold.

On the latter point, the seriousness of male depression is one that continually is overlooked not just because of the implications for the boys who call but also because I would suspect it is one of the main reasons for the increase in bullying being seen in schools and has lead to more calls.

Why is there an increase in bullying, perhaps it is because those bullies are also lacking in self esteem and I suspect this is in some part due to the lack of progress they make at schools with their exam results. Is it because of the general debasement of men in UK society that instead of finding ways to channel their testosterone into learning or being seen as role models, they take it out on other boys. There is no outlet for them and society, the media, the state and The Government do not seem to care.

Media Coverage - Google News

 

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ARTIFICIAL SPERM - MEN ARE NOW THE SECOND SEX

When Simone De Beauvoir wrote in 1953 that women were the Second Sex, she and her feminist acolytes have been waiting for the day when the roles would be reversed and that men were the Second Sex. That day has now come.

It is not just because of the constant belittling of men in British society, the mistreatment and ignorance perpetrated against them by the state (positive action, discrimination in the allocation of services), the belittling of fathers and the anti-father laws and courts, the inability to provide schooling that meets the needs of boys, the general propaganda smokescreen of the gender pay gap, glass ceilings etc and the downright untruths; no, something more fundamental has happened - it is the fact that British scientists in Newcastle have produced artificial sperm.

Despite the war waged on men, at least we were needed biologically but not anymore.

Forget all the nonsense about it being able a breakthrough to help infertile couples, within a decade, we will not be needed at all.

The scientist,  Karim Nayernia, involved will be hailed by anyone anti-male as a hero, in fact to them, he probably already is.

Media Coverage - Daily Mail, Michael Hanlon in The Mail, Sky, The Times, Daily Telegraph

BBC RADIO SCOTLAND - DOCUMENTARY ON THE PLIGHT OF MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

In March, BBC Radio Scotland produced a first class documentary on male victims of domestic violence victims. It was called Give Me A Voice.

It is back on tonight (9th July) at 22:05 GMT and should be available for another seven days via Iplayer etc

Click Here

SHOCKING RESEARCH ON THE UK'S PROSTATE POSTCODE LOTTERY

The first rate campaigning group Prostate Cancer - Charter for Action issued a worrying study to coincide with Men's Health Week.

The headline statistic showed that at least 96 of

England

’s 529 parliamentary constituencies (1 in 6) have a death rate from prostate cancer more than 25% above the

England

average (25 deaths per 100,000 population) with men in Tottenham almost five times more likely to die of prostate cancer than men in South East Cambridgeshire.

 

The charity is calling for:-

• Fewer men are diagnosed with prostate cancer once it has already spread

• More accurate information is made available to all patients

• The provision of clinical nurse specialists is increased

What is also appalling is the way, as revealed by the group, that the NHS (paid by us humble taxpayers) in many areas is refusing to implement the prostate care guidance by NICE who have control on what treatments and guidance should be available.

 

The two key issues really are that firstly this release was issued at the same time as the Cancer Research story that said men having a stiff upper lip is harming their health, whilst this, in many way smore important story/scandal only received good coverage in the Daily Telegraph. The reason seems to be that because the Cancer Research story showed men in a negative light, it got good coverage. Because the Prostate story was about the failure of the state, Government and the NHS to help men, it was not as important/not newsworthy enough/who cares?

 

Secondly, even with the political support the Charter group have, nothing seems to be changing with regard to helping men avoid this terrible disease that claims 10,000 lives per year. The hue and cry would be (rightly) deafening if the Government and NHS were dragging their heels on such an issue if it affected women, but because men are the disposable unimportant sex, silence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HIDDEN TOLL ON MEN

By ADRIAN ASHBY

Coincidentally published at the start of Men’s Health Week. Cancer Research UK published the results of the most comprehensive research into the risks and treatment of all major cancers. The results shocked the researchers themselves. Men are 70% more likely to die of cancers that are not sex specific (and 40% more likely if all cancers are included).

Health services have only recently started to even consider the need to direct efforts towards men. Though such research indicates that many lives would be saved if the Government and NHS made an effort to address men’s needs there is little in the way of  action.

Men are more likely to contract all forms of cancer (apart from those specific to sex) and very much more likely to die in all apart from Melanoma.

One big issue for men is that the vast majority are at work when the NHS and all its programmes are in full function. Few services are available out of standard working hours.

If the Government and the NHS were truly concerned about this issue, they would open surgeries up on a Saturday, but they largely do not. If the issue was the other way round, of course they would.

 

Media Coverage - Daily Mail, Express, Telegraph,BBC

DYING FOR A LIVING by ADRIAN ASHBY

The Health and Safety Executive published the results of a survey which showed that people completely underestimate the number of serious injuries and deaths at work.

 

Not only was there a lack of understanding of the number it was also not understood that the overwhelming majority of deaths and seriously injured are men. In 2006/7 five women were fatally injured and the same year 173 men died as the result of injuries at work. Similarly 20,235 men suffered a “major non fatal “ injury with 8,307 women suffering the same. Over 80,000 men had an injury resulting in at least 3 days of work with just under 34,000 women.

 

The last time the HSE did a gender analysis (in 2000 !) it noted that men had a 75% greater risk of suffering a work based injury rising to 85%  for serious injuries. Of course as can be seen  almost 100% of deaths are men.

 

In these times of gender awareness it is surprising that this hugely disproportionate  risk is not made more note of. Similarly figures for serious illness contracted as a result of work show a vastly greater number and risk for men.  

 

ANOTHER HARMAN MYTH IS DESTROYED: THIS TIME ON RECESSION DEPRESSION

Yesterday's post highlighted that the UK's Minister for Women, Harriet Harman MP, said that "We [women] have to worry more than men and we are definitely worrying more about the recession than men are."

However, mental health charity MIND published a report (link) stating that "Men are struggling to cope with the emotional impact of the recession. Almost 40% of men admit to feeling low at the moment with job security, work and money playing on their minds."

Their report Men and mental health: Get it off your chest showed:-

• 37% of men are feeling worried or low

• Middle aged men are 7 times more likely than women to have suicidal thoughts

• Only 23% of men would see their GP if they felt low over a fortnight

• Men were only half as likely to talk to friends about problems as women

This, just like her other myth, subsequently destroyed by the Office of National Statistics' own figures (link) that the recession harmed female employment more than it did men, destroys her myth that women are worrying about the recession more than man.

With three times as many men committing suicide per year than women (link), the MIND figures come as no surprise but it shows how desperate Harman is in trying to keep her malevolent agenda going.

She bases nothing on facts, just myths to try and make out on each and every subject that women are more hard done by than men.

She has been proved yet again to peddling untruths.

Story covered also by the BBC and Daily Mail.

Hat-tip: John Kimble