What is International Men’s Day?
International Men’s Day is all about making a positive difference to the wellbeing and lives of men and boys, and promoting a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity.
We want to raise awareness and take action on some of the issues that affect men and boys such as:
The high male suicide rate.
The challenges faced by boys and men at all stages of education and work, including attainment, re-training, redundancy and unemployment.
Men’s health, shorter life expectancy, and workplace deaths.
The challenges faced by the most marginalised men and boys in society (for instance, homeless men, boys in care, and the high rate of male deaths in custody).
Male victims of violence, including sexual violence.
The challenges faced by men as parents, particularly new fathers and separated fathers.
Male victims and survivors of sexual abuse, rape, sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based crime, stalking, and slavery.
Men also face a series of health challenges with current research telling us that:
Men have a suicide rate 3 times higher than women.
1 in 3 men have been the victims of domestic violence.
Men on average die 4-5 years before women.
Men are nearly twice as likely to suffer from lung cancer than women.
Men are nearly twice as likely to suffer from heart disease than women.
To find out more about International Men’s Day, the issues facing men and boys, and what can be done to address these, visit https://ukmensday.org.uk/
Extra Resources and Support
Movember - a great website with lots of support aimed at men including Spot the Signs and Get Support - https://uk.movember.com/
Samaritans - whatever you are going through, Samaritans are there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - www.samaritans.org
Papyrus – provision of confidential support and advice to young people struggling with thoughts of suicide - www.papyrus-uk.org