I was so impressed on the recent International Men’s Day when I read online that a protest to support women in their fight against male violence had been organised outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice – by men!
These men apparently wanted the justice system to get its act together when it comes to investigating, prosecuting and sentencing men – and I thought I’d go and meet them.
So I got up early and travelled down to The Strand – though I thought I’d arrive after the start to give the blokes time to gather. But unfortunately, as this picture shows, there were no blokes there!
I hung about a bit, and even asked a nearby security guard, but he hadn’t seen anyone, so I eventually went home disappointed. But I kept checking online, and at last a post popped up, and I could see male protestors in it. Maybe I should grab my camera and go back down there! But when I looked more closely it was Manchester not London, and how many men could I see in the pictures? Just two.
Anyway, it is at least a good excuse to remind our readers that the victims of domestic violence are still overwhelmingly women – 74% of them. In fact statistics suggest that one in four women in the UK will experience violence at the hands of a male partner during their lifetime.
An organisation that is active in East London in the area of supporting women who have suffered violence in the home is nia. And if you are a man who wants to support your sisters, White Ribbon UK describes itself as “the leading charity that is ending men’s violence against women by engaging with men and boys to make a stand against violence.”