The EMHF has welcomed its participation at the EU’s special seminar earlier this month on gender and mental health.
The 13 May meeting took place at the special request of health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, right, ahead of five meetings to launch the European Pact on Mental Health and Well-Being (PACT).
At the seminar, which brought together key stakeholders and the senior representatives of the commission, the EMHF were represented by director Erick Savoye and board member Professor Alan White.
Erick Savoye said: ‘we warmly welcomed the Commissioner’s insistence on highlighting the importance of gender in mental health and on holding this seminar.
‘We were delighted that for the first time, the EMHF were able to present the perspective of men’s mental health in front of the Commission. It reflects a clear intention to change practices that have contributed to perpetuate the perceptions among public and politicians that gender is only about women.’
Among other items on a packed agenda, the meeting addressed some key gender-related misconceptions such as the idea that eating disorders only affect young girls or that ADHD (attention-defecit hyperactivity disorder) is a boys’ condition.
‘We hope this meeting is a first step towards integrating a gender dimension in future EU debates not on mental health through the five forthcoming PACT conferences but also right across all areas of public health,’ Erick concluded.
PACT conferences are planned around the 5 thematic priority areas: Youth, Education and Mental Health; Prevention of Depression and Suicide; Mental Health and Older People; Mental Health in Workplace Settings; and Combating Stigma and Social Exclusion.
