Men are natural allies in the fight against sexism and abuse

Su-Mei Thompson says we need to reframe the issue as a men’s problem – as violence against women and other kinds of abuse harm more than the women – while encouraging all to take a stand

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A man holds a placard which reads “I have taught my son to not beat” during an annual march in Poland ahead of International Women’s Day. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:29pm, 7 Mar 2016Updated: 11:43am, 25 Apr 2018

This year’s Academy Awards were dogged by the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Several black members of the academy boycotted the event because all 20 acting nominees were white.

Given this, it was a welcome surprise to see US Vice-President Joe Biden introduce Lady Gaga and her theme song from The Hunting Ground, a candid documentary about campus rape in the US. Thanks to social media, millions of viewers across the world continue to watch the second most powerful man in the US lead the audience in a pledge to be active interlocutors – rather than passive bystanders – in cases of sexual assault.

READ MORE: Rape claim shines spotlight on sordid sex contest at elite US boarding school

Closer to home, in January, Lieutenant General David Morrison, the former chief of army for the Australian Defence Force, was named Australian of the Year for his efforts to stamp out sexism in the Australian military. The video of General Morrison speaking to the army after the 2013 scandal when officers used the military’s email system to disseminate pornographic material had gone viral. In it, the visibly angry army chief tells soldiers that anyone who thinks it is OK to behave in a way that demeans others should “get out”. He too, like Biden, chastises passive bystanders: “If you become aware of any individual degrading another, then show moral courage and take a stand.”

Lady Gaga holds hands with survivors of sexual assault after performing at the Academy Awards last month. Photo: EPA

As it happens, Dr Jackson Katz, the architect of the bystander intervention approach and a leading anti-sexism educator, was in Hong Kong last week as a guest of The Women’s Foundation. In a series of presentations to corporate leaders, university administrators, NGOs and the Hong Kong police, Katz called for a bold reframing of violence against women. It is, he asserts, a men’s issue, given that 95 per cent of sexual violence cases are perpetrated by men. Putting an end to sexual violence has direct positive effects on boys and men.

We must broaden definitions of masculinity to establish that being a man isn’t about aggressive or violent behaviour towards women and other men

A child who witnesses his mother being beaten is a victim himself. Studies show that children in violent homes are more likely to be either perpetrators or victims of violence as adults.

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