Giving Compass' Take:
- Rachel Thompson discusses the role of men in fighting male violence and challenging systems of oppression against women.
- What role can male donors specifically play in addressing these issues? How can you bring partners into the fight against violence against women?
- Learn how men can play a role in fighting for gender equality.
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What can men do? This question was asked countless times in the days following the suspected abduction and murder of Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home in London.
As women and marginalised genders took to Twitter to discuss the ways in which they try to keep themselves safe in public, and called for urgent societal change, many underscored the need for men's support and allyship in the fight against male violence.
On the day police confirmed that Sarah Everard's body had been identified, the hashtag #NotAllMen began to trend. At the same time, many pointed out that men's silence was loud in the conversation following Sarah's death, with the exception of the Not All Men brigade.
Sarah's death is not an isolated event, but forms part of a backdrop of violence against women and marginalised genders. In the UK, one woman is killed by a man every three days. Trans people face some of the highest rates of violence, with one in five trans people facing domestic abuse from a partner, including 21 percent of trans men, 16 percent of trans women, and 19 percent of non-binary people, according to Stonewall. It's important to acknowledge that in demanding justice for Sarah's death in the wider landscape of male violence, we should also honour the women whose deaths did not gain the same level of media coverage or police attention: Bibaa Henry, Nicole Smallman, Blessing Olusegun, Tiprat Argatu, Anna Ovsyannikova, and many more. As Black Ballad notes, 11,631 Black women and girls were missing between 2018 and 2019, but very few of those disappearances made headlines. Black Ballad adds that the past week has "highlighted how little attention is paid to Black women victims, and that is painful."
Beyond social media, the burden of dismantling systems of oppression shouldn't fall to those most affected by them — but all too often, it does. Tackling male violence means fighting misogyny on a societal level. That means educating boys and men about masculinity, gender roles, male entitlement, and their behaviour towards women and girls in all contexts, public or private. That education should identify how misogyny manifests in everyday life and the consequences thereof, and should equip people with the skills and confidence to challenge misogynistic comments and behaviour.
Read the full article about men fighting violence against women by Rachel Thompson at Mashable.