IC Change

Although the IC Change campaigners are a diverse group (which includes men), we are very regularly asked ‘but what about the men?’ This isn’t a question unique to our campaign, those working across the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector will not be surprised to hear this question on a regular basis.

So following International Women’s Day (sometimes cheekily referred to as International ‘What about the men?’ day) we asked this question to a key ally, Luke Martin, a Specialist Domestic Abuse Consultant focusing on work with male victims and LGBT*.

Here is what he had to say:

As a man working in the Violence Against Women and Girls sector, a question that I never hear directed at me is: “what about the men?”.

My female colleagues get it quite a lot - I’m sometimes the person asking - but other professionals rarely ask me what I’m doing for ‘the men’.

It’s fair to say I’ve done my stint supporting male victims, including seven years working as a Male Independent Domestic Violence Advisor where I dealt with thousands of cases. Read more about How many time have you heard ‘But what about the men…?’? …

This Saturday we were proud to take part in Million Women Rise, an international march of women and girls against male violence.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, we joined together with women from across the UK and across the world to take a stand against male violence towards women and say: ‘Enough is enough. This must change.’

As IC Change, we did not only go to draw attention to the issue of violence against women in the UK, how it is affecting us, our friends, our families and our communities. We also went to highlight a key part of the solution, which is within reach: the Istanbul Convention. Read more about Million Women Rise …