Campaigns
Courts And Associated Services
Simply, the services delivered within the court systems are only able to operate under the guidance stated within the acts of law. The campaign will compare the journeys of a man and woman through systems that should be designed to support genders equally. We will follow cases and explore the impact on individuals and families. We hope that by documenting the journey we will assist services to understand the full pathway of both men and women prior to becoming part of these processes and what happens after. Currently what our research tells us is there is a vast difference in the support men and women receive.
Gathering Of Statistics
Our research has shown that the way the data is collected, correlated and calculated enables inequality to be in place in the services delivered in the community. One of the major influencers in how governments and all the services within our communities conduct their business is statistic gathering agencies. This is done by organisations supported by governments and some which are independent. Statistics and data gathering, i.e. census, questionnaires and polls all feed into how statutory, charitable (NGO’s) and private businesses spend their money. They also influence how each organisation will plan its future and what may impact those plans. The campaign will explore the processes that individuals will go through in becoming a statistic, how this process is often gender biased and how contributing agencies are managed by the statistic system.
Education
Prior to formulating this campaign, research was done looking at how education approaches the needs of each gender. There are some startling facts on how the education system is failing boys. The campaign will look at what contributes to this, explore inspection processes, courses and support available to girls and boys and raise awareness on the needs of children and adults to enable them to thrive. We will explore how educating all professions on equal gender representation impact society and enables communities to thrive, linking in with some of the intuitive acts and strategies, for example the UK’s future generations act. We intend to use real life experiences, showing the journeys of individuals, families and professionals as they move through education systems in both the statutory and private sector.
Legal Representatives
Education, training and social trends impact on the professional development of people who choose to become legal professionals. This role is a commendable profession and takes a lot of hard work, mental and emotional resilience from the individuals and organisations who are designed to support individuals and families. The campaign will explore how professionals implement their roles, what challenges them and how they work to ensure people are represented within legal services. The campaign will also endeavour to share what our research tells us about the in-equalities in services, offering an opportunity in building awareness and contributing to change in how the support for men and women is implemented equally.
Police & Associated Services
Here are societies heroes and heroines, when they are guided by gender equal policies. In a positively structured society, this is a profession that educates its teams in ensuring communities are safe and have their rights served. Of course, they also enforce harmony by ensure we all adhere to our responsibilities as individuals. They are part of the campaign because our research showed that some of the services that the police work with have major issues in how they deliver equal rights to men and women. These services influence the choices the police are able to make when deferring to alternatives to custodial sentences and when referring people to support services. The campaign will show the impact on officers and their teams in attempting to support and police communities. We will also aim to share the data, research and stories to enable police services to see the broader impact and how they may be able to influence improved services that focus on men and women having the same response and opportunities when they move through police management.
Social Services
The research we have conducted has shown that support delivered by social services often excludes the needs of men and boys. Some of the strongest examples can be seen within domestic abuse and child protection cases. The impact on children particularly is profound and we recognise that while social workers are educated to protect individuals and families who are going through vulnerable situations, the limitations within their own policies and the inequality of the gender services in the community for them to work in partnership with or refer to, disables them from offering the right kind of support at the right time. The campaign will explore the challenges social workers have, why those challenges are in place and how this affects families in the short and long term. We will show how inequality disables key government strategies from being effective and how small changes can impact positively on all family members going through social service processes.
Equality
Equality centres around the right to choose who we are. It is a fundamental basic core that ensures true equality exists. It is not a gift or questionable allowance; it is a right. We believe that it is not helpful to aim for 50/50, that this excludes humanities desire to be individuals and to try to be the best we can be. Equality doesn’t thrive in an environment when you say I am the same as the woman or man next to me, it thrives when you can say, I choose to be what my heart, mind and body allows me to be. Equality stands strong when you can make a choice, regardless of your gender, colour, faith, age, culture etc. Equality = Choice. Choice = Equality. The campaign identified that when language and guidance only include one party within its narrative, it excludes at the same time. What our research has told us is that without basic, equal representation within acts of law, strategies and service direction there will always be people who are excluded. We believe the most supportive way to write guidance is to either include both genders or remove gender and base each public service guidance on statistical evidence of need. The campaign will serve equality by reporting on case studies from all sections of society, from pre-birth to end of life. We will show when equality works and when it fails. We will endeavour to give all perspectives and reasoning and to let those who have education and/or knowledge, those who know more than us, influence best practice.
Human Rights
Human rights are a reference to what we can expect in how others treat us. It is a code of conduct that has been in our governance and societies for generations in one format or another and as such it allows us to assume we have a place in the world where we are valued and respected, regardless of culture, colour, gender or ability. In the world today, the research that we have done is telling us there is a lack of understanding in the experiences of men and boys and that bizarrely, governments have incorporated into their governance a presumed assumption that men and boys are always served within legislation, guidance, policy and fiscal management. This is profoundly damaging to men, boys and our communities, it is simply not true and it is an area in our human rights that needs to be urgently reviewed through the creation of equal consultation pathways, for example in the formulation of a UN Men. We will strongly challenge governance by focusing the first 2 years of our work on raising awareness on the rights of men and boys in having the same mirrored, representation in consultation groups and governance as women and girls.
Health
Globally health statistics show that gender matters in how we remain healthy. Biologically men and women are different but we also have differences in how we function mentally and emotionally. In areas of health our research has shown that the support for men and women has massive inequalities that contribute to issues that are disabling, isolating and which cause long term harm. We know that there are some obvious issues, for example, on average in the UK alone two out of three suicides are men, but health and well being strategies are hugely directed at women. The campaign will draw on statistics, look at how inequality happens, what the impact is and share solutions told through the stories of men and women who live through those inequalities.
Housing
A home is a basic human need and initially was an area we had no intention of prioritising. We had explored the legal responsibilities in communities to deliver housing but as research into other areas progressed we came to realise that the lack of gender equality in other areas was having an impact on housing and its related services, particularly for men. The campaign will focus on raising awareness of the barriers faced when accessing social housing, particularly for men. who share custody of their children or who are full time single fathers. We will follow pathways into housing provision, report on historical and present issues, use case studies and re-enactment story telling. We will share what our research tells us, request that organisations consider what we learn and support organisations who work in partnership with us.
Third Sector
Out of all the research that was completed in formulating this campaign, every country we connected to showed a deep, systemic inequality in available services for men and boys. Services delivered by not for profit agencies show diversity in how they are funded, they are commissioned receive grants or often self-fund through running profit making businesses. The origin of these services are often organic, so will start from individuals or groups identifying community needs and supporting that need in a volunteer capacity. Agencies will support for many different reasons, health, education, housing, domestic abuse, cancer, the list is endless. The research in this sector showed how through business planning agencies will design services based on community and governmental needs in order to secure funding and support, there is also evidence of agencies adopting aims identified in media trends. These agencies offer fundamental services and without their involvement local communities would struggle but for many different reasons services that support men and boys with issues that are profoundly life changing, for example domestic abuse or mental health are under-represented, there are serious gaps in provision. The campaign will explore those gaps through media reporting, we will use case studies of organisations who are attempting to deliver their services based on evaluated gender needs and utilise researched information by us to show where men and boys are not being served.
Acts Of Law UN & UK
The United Nations is one of the most inspirational achievements of our times, it is a working progress and has influenced how societies succeed when people work together. It pays tribute to the rights of human beings to thrive in their culture, religion and in their identities as human beings. Our research has shown that they strongly motivate countries and organisations to base their service on basic principles and we can see their dedication to this. We know that sometimes when people are attempting to service society it is very difficult to incorporate the needs of all. Through the research we complete we mapped how member countries have incorporated the UN’s directives into acts of law and strategies. We explored how these were filtered into national and local strategies and how they influenced services that are delivered to individuals and families. As a result of this piece of research our campaign for acts of law to be either written in the narrative of both genders or reference none is to be directed towards the United Nations. The reasoning behind this is based on our exploration of how member countries adopt the guidance within their acts of law and national strategies. We have read a massive amount of the guidance given to the member states, cross referenced some of this with statistical evidence of need in the area of guidance and have noted that gender reference does not reflect human needs. In all cases the impact of gender reference within the guidance means that within the countries who filter the guidance into their acts and policies, the gender becomes exclusive to those policies. The campaign will explore the impact of gender in policy and governance, we will adopt a ‘did you know’ theme and explore the impact on services where gender has created exclusivity in accessing people facing services. We will use case studies, re-enactment documentaries and report of the impact families experience in a gender bias environment.
Equality In Service Opportunities
The way services are designed should be based on knowledge and understanding of the individual needs of people who live within different cultures and societies. Where-ever you live, the mechanisms that influence those services may differ but there a core of actions that will decide whether services really do meet the needs of the people governments serve. That core should be based on questions that start with WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW. It is impossible to spend money on providing services unless you ask questions and the root of those questions should be the people who live within each community. Our research has shown that central government their various strategic departments, local authority provision, NGO’s, charities and private businesses who contract services for governments do not ensure the consultation in formulating services adheres to Equality and Human Rights. We have evidence of direct and meaningful exclusion to men when services are being formulated and reviewed. Shockingly, this too often goes against long standing laws in fiscal policy spending for each country and the ethics wrapped up in UN policies. We have found through our research that this is prevalent throughout all United Nation Member States who were evaluated and has proven to have no foundation or reason so can only be assumed to be a crime against men and boys and their right to have their needs met.
Children's Services
This campaign began in Wales, but in creating it we looked at statistics and evidence from many countries. All over the world, the impact of gender inequality is evident from the day a child is born. Human rights are something we all hold in the fabric of our existence and to see whether it is permitted in a society all you need to do is look at the support available for a child. This is easy because all societies understand that the measurement of life is in how different societies care for its children. Children’s services in each country we added to our research show a fundamental lack of gender equality in the rights of children. We placed the child at the core of our research and out of that looked at all the relationships the child would encounter as it grew, their opportunities, how society recognised their needs and why boys were treated differently to girls. The campaign will show how the acts and strategies written to protect children struggle because of the impact of gender inequality and how this creates an environment where those who strive to support children to succeed, become the very thing that causes them harm. The campaign will use case studies, statistical evidence and re-enacted story-telling to show impact and enable individuals, families and professionals to see why, what, how and who can make a difference in changing how we support future generations with equal respect and equal choice to satisfy needs.