The EMHF has backed the launch of a report on men, masculinities and equality in public policy in the UK parliament by the Coalition on Men and Boys (COMAB).
According to Man Made, funded by the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Government Equalities Office, public policy needs to respond urgently to the problems that men and boys create and the problems that they experience alongside efforts to improve the position and status of women.
Speakers at a meeting including members of both UK houses of parliament, included Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party in the UK, right, and Peter Baker, the CEO of EMHF member, the Men's Health Forum and also chair of COMAB.
The report looks in detail at the issues of violence, fatherhood, education, work, and health. It shows that public policy fails to engage with masculinity issues even though recent equality legislation in the UK requires the different needs of both sexes to be taken into account.
Men themselves must take more responsibility for promoting gender equality and they have great potential to contribute positively to caring, health, education and anti-violence strategies.
Peter Baker said: ‘The time is now right for public policy to address men, boys and masculinity in a more sophisticated way. We can't respond effectively to the many problems men and boys cause and the problems they face unless and until there is a genuine cross-government strategic commitment to focus on masculinity in the development of public policy.
‘We need to tackle the long-hours working culture, improve men’s use of primary healthcare, encourage services to engage more actively with fathers, and develop programmes to educate men and boys about healthy relationships to combat violence against women. Men and boys have great potential to contribute positively to strategies in these areas, and many are actively doing so. We must reach a tipping point, where the majority come to recognise the benefits - for themselves, women and children - of greater equality.’
