Joe Hayman argues 'we need to make the case for a national strategy against male violence'

It is time for us – men – to recognise the threat of male violence in the UK and take our responsibility seriously.

Just look at the numbers: 1.6 million women in the UK were estimated to be victims of domestic abuse in the last year. 144,000 women were victims of rape or attempted rape in the same period. On average, a woman is murdered every three days in the UK. The common denominator in all this violence is the sex of those responsible: just as in the case of violence against men, perpetrators are overwhelmingly male. Anyone who seeks to downplay this threat, or who thinks platitudes are the answer, is in denial. In response, we need to do more than take individual responsibility for our own behaviour; we need to use our voices too. I think we should use that voice to make the case for national strategy which treats male violence like the threat that it is, and I’ve set out below a few thoughts about what that strategy might look like.

 

First, groups like Yes All Men have been formed in response to male violence against women specifically, but it is worth recognising this as a discrete issue, with its links to sex, culture, power and much more, within a broader phenomenon that is male violence. We need to deal with both discretely and, where they overlap, together. Second, it is important to recognise the cultural factors which clearly have an impact on male violence while ensuring that we don’t strip men of their own agency or responsibility for their actions. This means that universal interventions which relate to masculinity and patriarchy are required alongside targeted interventions in communities where there may be a high prevalence of male violence (these might be physical, cultural or online communities) and with high-risk individuals (those who have exhibited violent behaviour or misogynist attitudes in the past, for example). Targeting of individuals or communities may feel uncomfortable but given the scale of the threat and the fact that it is clearly not random, such preventative measures are necessary, and if we are serious about stopping male violence, we should follow the data wherever it takes us. Prevention, after all, is better than cure, and there is much that can be done to support men, for example in relation to mental health, mentoring or education about healthy relationships which could lead to better outcomes for them and reduce violence at the same time. That said, it would be naïve to ignore the fact that dangerous predators who are a risk to others exist amongst us: any strategy must deal with them robustly to protect women – and all of us.

 

The tiered strategy I’m talking about, with universal, preventative interventions alongside a robust, targeted approach to those who pose a heightened risk mirrors our national response on another issue: terrorism. This parallel may be uncomfortable but it is deliberate and, in my view, apposite. Look back at the numbers: a woman murdered every three days, nearly 150,000 women raped each year, 1.6m victims of domestic abuse. Men are terrorising women in this country, and if this violence was inspired by Islamist or far-right ideology, it would be on the front page every day. The fact that it isn’t on the front pages or at the front of our minds shows how casually it is accepted. The murder of a woman every three days just ‘priced in’. We need a wake up call, and while the Government’s counter-terror strategy is no doubt imperfect, there is no question that it is an issue which is taken seriously. This in itself is important because anyone who has ever been in a changing room or a stag party knows we’re still a long way from this being accepted as a serious issue by the people who have to make the change: us. 

The idea of calling for a national strategy may seem beyond the scope of groups like Yes All Men and daunting for those just thinking about what they can do in their own lives, workplaces or communities to be better men. But the scale of the threat requires us not just to be decent in our own lives: if we are truly serious about being allies, then the least we can do is make our voices heard. Indeed, inherent in the mantra ‘Yes All Men’ is an acceptance that the problem of male violence exists beyond us as individuals; it follows that a response beyond our own individual behaviour is required. The truth is that for too long, we have accepted the violence which exists within us because we were not the direct perpetrators. Ultimately that just makes us bystanders – and deep down we know that’s not good enough. It is time now to show we are serious. It is time to say stop.

All blogs published on the Yes All Men blog are the views author.