Reflections on violence against men and boys from the Male Survivors National Conference
Last week, members of the Devon Mental Health Alliance attended the Male Survivors National Conference, which was hosted at Plymouth Argyle Football Club by local organisations First Light, Operation Emotion, and moMENtum.
This incredibly important event featured several speakers, including male survivors talking about their own experiences and how services can respond better to help end violence against men and boys (VAMB). Speakers included the Right Honourable Luke Pollard (recorded remotely), Plymouth Sutton & Devonport MP; Francey Hakes, President Obama’s first National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction; and Mark Brooks OBE, Chair of The ManKind Initiative.
The event started off with a video created by Operation Emotion in which male survivors talked about their experience of sexual violence, the consequences, and the support received from the charity. We also heard from survivors who accessed support via moMENtum and how services could improve their responses, or even have responses at all towards VAMB.
The issue of violence against women and girls (VAWG) was also discussed at the event, where the importance of further work in this area was also recognised. There are high needs of provision for both VAWG and VAMB, and those in attendance explored how organisations can — and should — make this part of their day-to-day working.
Here at the Devon Mental Health Alliance, we recognise that this is something that needs addressing across all our communities. We will work closely with other charities and community organisations to make this a part of our agenda, and hope to be able to support organisations across the sector who are supporting people who have experienced violence.
Natascha, one of our Community Development Leads who was in attendance at the conference, states: “It was positive to see such enthusiasm for change and the challenges raised within discussions, and with speakers around a system change towards a more trauma-informed society, but also becoming more trauma specific.”
If you’ve been impacted by this topic, please reach out to the mentioned organisations for support:
First Light: www.firstlight.org.uk
Operation Emotion: operationemotion.co.uk
moMENtum: www.momentumdevon.org.uk