Bonnie Support Services

Bonnie Support Services

Domestic violence: it’s an issue for men and women

The other day we received an interesting call at Bonnie’s. It was from a man, calling about his little sister. She was experiencing domestic violence and he was feeling helpless, trying to get any information he could about how to support her. Calls from family and friends are not unusual for Bonnie’s but there was something about this one that stood out. The Family Worker who spoke to him couldn’t help but tell the team about it.

What was so unusual about this call? Well, it was from a man.

The sad fact is that at Bonnie’s very rarely do we get calls from men supporting women leaving domestic violence. And yet men have a pivotal role in the fight against domestic violence and as supporters of women experiencing it

At the end of this post is a video of a TED talk by Jackson Katz. It’s called Violence against women – it’s a men’s issue. As Katz says,

…most men that I know have women and girls that we care deeply about, in our families and our friendship circles and every other way.

Men are fathers, brothers, friends and sons so while domestic violence largely affects women, it also affects the men who love and care about them.

Domestic violence is not a gender issue: it’s a human issue and while it was unusual to receive a call from a man supporting a woman leave domestic violence, it was also very heartening.

We hope to receive more of them in the future.

Watch the Jackson Katz TED Talk –and please share this post with the men you love in your life.

Written by Lucy

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