Dear Equalities and Human Rights Commission
Subject: 2016 – 2019 Strategic Plan Consultation
We, 38 signatories, note that the EHRC’s vision statement commits to tackling areas where there is still unfair discrimination.
We call upon the EHRC to formally acknowledge within their strategic plan that there can be occasions and circumstances where the victims of unfair discrimination are men and boys, and recognises the need to tackle areas where the needs of men and boys are unmet.
A range of these include:
- The high male suicide rate.
- The challenges faced by boys and men at all stages of education including attainment.
- Men’s health, shorter life expectancy and workplace deaths.
- The challenges faced by the most marginalised men and boys in society (for instance, homeless men, boys in care and the high rate of male deaths in custody).
- Male victims of violence, including sexual violence.
- The challenges faced by men as parents, particularly new fathers and separated fathers.
- Male victims and survivors of sexual abuse, rape, sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based crime, stalking and slavery.
- The negative portrayal of men, boys and fathers.
Thank you for your consideration
Yours sincerely
- Glen Poole, UK Coordinator of International Men’s Day
- Jane Powell, CEO, CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably
- Heather Blake, Director of Support & Influencing, Prostate Cancer UK
- Keith Best, Chief Executive, SurvivorsUK
- Jerry Karlin, Chair and Managing Trustee of Families Need Fathers
- Mark Brooks, Chair, The ManKind Initiative
- Duncan Craig, CEO, Survivors Manchester
- Bob Balfour, Founder, Survivors West Yorkshire
- Justin Gaffney RN, CEO/Director, MSH Health & Wellbeing CIC
- Sam Thomas, Founder and Director, Men Get Eating Disorders Too
- Jack Broadley, Founder/Chairman, Baggy Trousers charity
- Karen Woodall, Lead Therapist, Family Separation Clinic London
- Ian Maxwell, National Development Manager, Families Need Fathers Scotland
- Richard Duncker, Founder, Men Do Complain
- Peter Morris, Chairman, Mens Aid Northern Ireland
- Paul Apreda, National Manager, FNF Both Parents Matter Cymru
- John Mays, Chairman, Parity
- Dan Bell, Features Editor, insideMan magazine
- Martin Daubney, Journalist, broadcaster and committee member, Being A Man Festival
- Ally Fogg, Writer and Journalist
- Neil Lyndon, Writer and Journalist
- Brian Dempsey, Lecturer, School of Law, University of Dundee
- Dr Elizabeth A. Bates, Senior Lecturer in Applied Psychology, University of Cumbria
- Dr Luke Sullivan, Clinical Psychologist and Director, Men’s Minds Matter
- Dr. Ben Hine, CPsychol, FHEA, Lecturer in Psychology, School of Psychology, Social Work and Human Sciences at University of West London
- Prof. Damien Ridge, Professor of Health Studies, University of Westminster
- Dr Jessica McCarrick, Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer, Counselling Psychology, Teesside University
- Dr Nicola Graham-Kevan, Reader in the Psychology of Aggression, UCLAN
- Gijsbert Stoet, Reader in Psychology, University of Glasgow
- Dr John Barry, Gender Equity Network
- Prof. Geoff Dench, Director, Men for Tomorrow
- Belinda Brown, Research Fellow, The Young Foundation
- Martin Seager, Consultant Clinical Psychologist
- Duncan Alldridge, Founder, Deep Diving Men
- Nick Woodall, Family Practitioner and Author.
- Kenny Mammarella-D’Cruz “The Man Whisperer”, Founder, MenSpeak Men’s Groups
- John Adams, Blogger, Writer and Fatherhood Campaigner
- Louis de Bernieres, Writer