The Men’s Network in Brighton & Hove is planning a joint letter to the UK government on behalf of groups working with men and boys. If you want to be a co-signatory to this letter please contact glen@themensnetwork.org.uk today and to see who’s backing the letter click here now
DRAFT LETTER TO PARLIAMENT
In the run up to International Men’s Day on Saturday 19th November 2011, we invite the Government to consider placing a greater focus on the issues that men and boys face.
We recognize that there are many male voices in parliament, but there are very few male or female voice highlighting the specific needs of men and boys in the UK.
There are now many areas where men and boys are showing up unequally such as health, fatherhood, education, criminal justice and community safety – and we believe that any effort to ensure equality for all in the UK needs to consider the specific needs of men and boys and how to address them.
There is now a growing network of individuals and organisations in the UK which is concerned with addressing these issues, which came together for the First National Conference for Men and Boys in Brighton & Hove on 1st November 2011.
We all have our own specific areas of interest and many different ideas about how best we can improve men and boys access to and outcomes from public services.
What unites us is a commitment to help every boy to reach his full potential as a man and to improve the way the world works for every man, woman, girl and boy in the UK in the process.
The Government has already consulted with women and women’s groups on how government engages with and listens to women and we welcome this.
Will the Government also undertake to consult with men and men’s groups about how it can respond more effectively to the specific needs of men and boys in the UK
We look forward to your reply
With Best Regards
The Men’s Network in partnership with…………….ADD YOUR NAME TODAY BY EMAILING GLEN@THEMENSNETWORK.ORG.UK
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
We will now circulate this letter to groups working with men an boys across the UK and invite them to join us in calling on the government to place a greater focus on the specific needs of men and boys. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to be then please let us know.
Glen Poole is UK co-ordinator for International Men's Day, Director at the consultancy Helping Men and news editor of insideMAN magazine. Follow him on twitter @HelpingMen or find out more about his work at www.helpingmen.co.uk.
Men's News From Brighton & Hove, England 
I really like the tone of this letter….the same tone that was resonating at the recent conference……it’s not about giving men privileged treatment, or taking resources away from women and children, rather it’s about making men’s needs important aswell and improving the quality of their lives so their wellbeing and life chances can be more similar to women. Women have fought long and gard to secure a better life for themselves..unfortunately in this process men have fallen a long way behind. For me, this initiative is about achieving parity and holding men in higher regard than at present.
Excellent letter. Like you, we don’t want to take anything away from anybody- but surely fairness and equality should underpin democracy. I work with men over 55. It will become a massive problem area which is growing over the next few years as the ‘boomers’ come up to retirement and are left to their own devices: what a massive waste of skills and resources that needs action NOW and to do this, we need to do something about it. We have to raise awareness and Parliament need to be aware that roughly half of the population can be disaffected if their needs are not heard and not addressed. I am happy to support.