JUNE: AN INTERNATIONAL CALL TO ALL MEN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

June-2014-Man-Up-400As part of the growing efforts to include men as part of the solution to prevent and end violence against women, Battered Women’s Support Services created the June campaign in 2013 urging men to own their role and help end violence against women.

Everyday young men and boys are taught that being a man means maintaining dominance through violence. Men have a vital role to play as fathers, brothers, friends, decision makers, community members and leaders in speaking out against violence and bringing attention to the issue.

Our campaign has focused on the impact that patriarchy and the term “Man Up” has on boys and men. There is a crisis in masculinity where boys and men feel they must maintain power through violence. The boy in the poster is hurt and instead of teaching him to find healthy ways of stopping violence society teaches him being a man means showing dominance and perpetuating violence to maintain their power. This year our poster features a young man holding a gun which illustrates the reality of how behaviours of boys are shaped within the culture of violence.

RyanFem

In light of the recent #YesAllWomen hash tag, the men in this video are owning their role and showing their support to end violence against women. While not all men are violent against women, many men choose to stay silent. That silence has allowed for the continued violence against girls and women. As Troy Westwood said “Violence against women will end when men end violence against women.” It is time for men to break their silence and be part of the solution! Patriarchy and toxic masculinity create a world where neither women nor men can live freely. YOU have the power to create social change!

Join our campaign and be part of the International Call To Men To End Violence Against Women. For resources on what you can do to help end violence against women, please visit here.