On International Men’s Day

On International Men’s Day I try to ignore the nonsense online and think of my wonderful father — the only true parent I’ve had — and the other decent men in my life. Having a single father who has been incredible to me and my sisters has made me a fierce feminist with an appreciation for good male allyship.

I also think of the things we should be talking about as issues on this day. Most pressing, in my opinion, is the mental health crisis affecting men in New Zealand and around the world. Plagued by depression and with disturbingly high suicide statistics in certain male demographics, male mental health should be a priority area for healthcare and men’s wellbeing.

Male violence is something that cannot go unaddressed on International Men’s Day. Male-on-male violence is responsible for a huge amount of violent crime. When men are victims of crime, it is usually perpetuated by other men and the underlying factors which contribute to male violence need to be addressed. This, of course, is often linked to mental illness crises also. The violence committed against women by men must also be acknowledged here. It is something we all know that happens, but so far have not managed to address as a society. We can ‘call out’ male violence, but finding practical solutions is much harder. We need men to be willing to work on solutions first and foremost. Understandably, for many…