Mental health articles

Below I am pasting an email I received today that readers may want to use to promote the welfare of men and boys in the UK.

I've put the email template at the top. The explanation of what it's about is below that.

Thanks to Father X, Strategic Advisor for the International Council for Men and Boys, who wrote this.

Who To Email:

Find Your Member of Parliament here:

https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

Draft Email To Send: 

Here is a sample email to copy/paste and send....and edit as you see fit.

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Dear [MP’s Full Name], 

I am writing to you as a constituent of [Constituency Name] to express my strong support for the Interpersonal Abuse and Violence Against Men and Boys (Strategy) Bill, tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty MP, which is scheduled for its second reading on Friday, 16 May 2025. 

This Bill addresses a critical gap in our current approach to tackling interpersonal abuse by proposing a dedicated strategy to support male victims of domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault, digital image abuse, honour-based violence, and forced marriage. Male survivors often face unique challenges, including stigma and lack of tailored support, and a specific strategy would ensure their needs are recognised and addressed effectively. 

As your constituent, I respectfully urge you to vote in favour of this Bill at its second reading. Supporting this legislation would demonstrate a commitment to equality, ensuring that all victims of abuse, regardless of gender, receive the protection and support they deserve. 

[Optional: Add a personal reason for your support, e.g., “This issue is particularly important to me because I know someone who has been affected by domestic abuse as a male victim, and I believe more needs to be done to support men and boys in these situations.”] 

Please let me know your stance on this Bill and whether you will be supporting it. I would also be grateful if you could confirm your attendance at the second reading debate. Thank you for taking the time to consider this important issue, and I look forward to your response. 

Yours sincerely, 

[Your Full Name] 

[Your Address – include at least your postcode to confirm you are a constituent] 

[Your Email Address or Phone Number – optional, for follow-up]

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To DAVIA Members in the UK:

I'm writing to connect all of you so that you can join forces on the proposed Interpersonal Abuse and Violence Against Men and Boys (Strategy) Bill, tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty MP, which is scheduled for its second reading on Friday, 16 May 2025.

This link is to a video posted on X. The speech is given by MP Ben Obese-Jecty: https://x.com/MrStephenTee/status/1915014652909531409

The bill proposes assistance for Male Victims of domestic violence....which we all know is unheard of and desperately needed.

I understand that organizations such as Mankind Initiative, Men and Boys Coalition, and We Are Survivors have worked diligently on this Bill. 

And all of you are allies in this movement, so I ask you to work together (I'm sure some of that is already happening, but if we can expand the coalition, that's better). At the end of this email I share with you all of the organizations (members of DAVIA) that I am copying on this email.

To be honest: I have not had the time to look at the details of the proposal. Nor do I know the expected vote counts. I don't know if this solves all of your problems or some percentage of them. But it sounds like a big step in the right direction.

Acknowledging and providing funding for male victims of domestic violence is a massive shift in this overall movement. It looks like somebody has opened the door for you in the UK, and I want you all to drive a truck through that door. Let's not let this opportunity slip. 

I'm sure many have experienced false hope and may be cynical about whether this will pass. But I think the proper response is to grab the bull by the horns and ensure the bill pases.

I will step back and let you all move forward, as you are much closer to the details. And there are at least 3 organizations working on this. But I want to share some thoughts because I want you to succeed. Ideas for you to use or improve upon:

Your Email Campaign: The second reading is on the 16th of May about 2 weeks away. I recommend that for the next 2 weeks and beyond (for the next steps in this process) that you engage collectively in a joint effort to get all of your subscribers, followers, clients, personal networks, and social media networks involved. And at the least they can write to their members of Parliament.

If you ask 100,000 people to write, and you get a 1% response rate, that's 1,000 emails. So we need to get the starting number as high as possible...and there are 27 organizations on this distro list. 

Most people do not write to their legislators. But if you give them an email template and email addresses, and make it extremely easy for them, then you can get a better response rate...like 1-2%.

**Therefore, at the bottom of this email is a draft email (along with the website to find MP email addresses) that you can send to all your social networks to have them write to their MPs. Please start reaching out to your social networks now if you haven't already.

**I understand there are several phases before legislation is passed. So, I recommend you engage in repetitive marketing to the Members of Parliament for the next several months on this issue. This isn't a one-time campaign. 

Collaboration Among UK Organizations: I highly recommend that you brainstorm together to anticipate all the objections that the radical feminist groups will have to this Bill. And work together to document good responses to counter all those expected objections. You know the radical feminists will show up with weird data and anecdotes to deny male victimhood and deny funding. It's important to proactively prevent them from confusing or swaying legislators in the wrong direction.

**On X, one woman responded by saying that this Bill would be of great benefit to the 3 men who are male victims of domestic violence. It was offensive. But we know many people think this way and we have to destroy that mindset. You have the numbers to disprove that biased mindset.

*Are you already coordinating with each other?

*Is there a Central Project manager, such as Mankind Initiative or Men and Boys Coalition or We Are Survivors...who is coordinating your joint efforts?

*Should all of the organizations coordinate through them, centrally?

Again this is all up to you and I defer to you. I just want to push in the right direction of creating a united front, to help you collaborate. You are 27 organizations strong!  Alone you will perish, but United you can win. 

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-Father X

International Council for Men and Boys, Strategic Advisor

https://www.youtube.com/@FatherX2022