Part of The Pixel Project’s mission is to “advocate and advance a gender-blind approach to gender-based violence.” We are always happy to share stories about men getting involved in efforts to end violence against women (VAW).
Today we have a few stories to share. The first comes from Boston, where Governor Deval Patrick promised to maintain spending on domestic violence prevention services at current levels, despite a large budget deficit. The governor made his comments at a White Ribbon Day event where men were asked to sign pledges to end abuse.
The second story comes from the Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in the state of Alabama. The play “Voices of Men” was performed on the base by writer and actor Ben Atherton-Zeman. The play “urges men to raise their voices against abuse and be aware of the impact their actions can have on those around them.” At the end of the performance, men were given the opportunity to pledge to work to end domestic violence and sexual harassment and hundreds did.
Lastly, a news item from Hürriyet, Turkey’s English language daily paper, talked about a recent seminar and panel discussion about men’s role in ending violence against women. One of the speakers was Michael Kaufman, one of the co-f0unders of White Ribbon Canada (an awareness-raising partner of The Pixel Project). The seminar was part of Hürriyet’s seven-year campaign against domestic violence which is focused this year on challenging men to be part of the solution. You can read the whole story here.
As these stories and the work of the Pixel Project demonstrate, men and women both have an important role to play in ending violence against women.
If you have good news story that you would like us to feature, please email me at crystal@thepixelproject.net.