Personally speaking, the Man Up campaign has taught me two important things. Firstly, the problem of domestic abuse in Ireland is a common and serious one. Secondly, and most importantly, we all have the power to change this fact. We just need to stand up and be counted.
One in eight men are aware of women who are currently living in an abusive relationship. Domestic abuse is not just physical either. A whopping 470,157 women have experienced psychological violence by a partner since the age of 15. This number is far far too high and we need to do our bit to stop it. We can learn from our heroes in sport that we too can man up and bring about positive change.
Whether it be the fantastic reaction from some of the NFL community to issues of domestic abuse, or from GAA stars closer to home who have spoken out their own mental health battles; the real men of today are redefining what it means to be a man. It's good to talk, and it's absolutely the right thing to do.
When we do it we become real men.
From the Man Up campaign we realised that there's plenty we can do to make our voices heard. In fact there are five simple things we can do:
- Free ourselves
- Step up
- Speak out
- Get help
- Listen & Learn
Whether we're someone who is abusing or just someone who wants to make a difference there are tonnes of the resources on the Man Up website on how we can help and how we can get help.
