Men should stand up and speak out about violence against
women
Domestic violence affects everyone, and a local organization is
following through on that message by recruiting area men to get
more involved in the fight against it.
For many years, women have been the lead voice against a problem
that occurs everywhere and, in some way, affects everybody.
Domestic violence is wrong and must be stopped, and Community
Solutions in Hollister has been pushing a worldwide movement,
called V-Men, to get men more comfortable with the discussion.
Men should stand up and speak out about violence against women
Domestic violence affects everyone, and a local organization is following through on that message by recruiting area men to get more involved in the fight against it.
For many years, women have been the lead voice against a problem that occurs everywhere and, in some way, affects everybody. Domestic violence is wrong and must be stopped, and Community Solutions in Hollister has been pushing a worldwide movement, called V-Men, to get men more comfortable with the discussion.
The area group hopes to attract local guys – who either have witnessed abuse or want to stand up against it – to sit down for a candid conversation. Those stories then could be part of a production, similar to “Vagina Monologues,” performed worldwide on the related “V-Day” to raise money for anti-domestic violence efforts.
Expanding such dialogue to men is a worthy goal, but the topic can be uneasy for some. Another issue may be the attached stigma, and perhaps a reluctance from men to link themselves to related talks out of concern for the image it potentially could elicit in public. It is not overly surprising, then, that the first planned gathering at Mars Hill Coffeehouse drew no visitors. Community Solutions might have better luck the second time around by planning the discussion in a setting that is somewhat less conspicuous, and by continuing to emphasize that there must be a broader network of voices against these continual travesties.
That, though, is the challenge of this movement and an impediment worth getting past, for good.
Getting men’s stories out there too will show that in Hollister and across the United States, this isn’t a problem for just women.
It’s time for everyone, especially men, to start taking responsibility for ending domestic violence.
