We have some broad areas of focus which you might have seen on our homepage.

Within these areas, we narrow down on certain issues which men can be adversely affected by (this list is by no means exhaustive):-

Health & Wellbeing (physical, mental and emotional issues)

e.g. certain types of health-related issues can only affect men as a result of anatomical and biological reasons. There are certain health problems and illnesses  which can affect men exclusively, and there are others that can disproportionately affect men or place them at higher risk.

Mental health is a topic that is receiving a lot of interest at the moment.  Men in particular can be known to “bottle things up” and be reluctant to share and discuss things on their mind, which can adversely affect their mental health and well being. We want to help tackle this issue and encourage men to speak up and share whatever is on their mind.

There are ongoing concerns around the high level of suicide rates amongst young men in particular. According to well-documented statistics, Scotland has seen a “devastating” increase in this problem and has the highest recorded rates in the UK. That is certainly a worrying trend. Furthermore, male suicide is considered to be the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. This is clearly an issue that disproportionately affects men. We want to help tackle this issue and encourage more support to be made available to address this problem. 

More examples coming soon. 

Family & Relationships

e.g. the rights of fathers and the difficulties that they can often encounter around having contact with their children upon a breakdown or separation with their ex-partner.

Parental alienation. This describes a process through which a child becomes estranged from a parent as the result of the psychological manipulation of another parent. Certain statistics show that men in particular are at a higher risk of becoming a victim to this form of abuse and we have also heard many first-hand accounts of this issue. It is well-documented that parental alienation can adversely affect men’s mental health, in some cases quite significantly. This is a topic of growing concern which can directly impact men in a negative way and also have a significant detrimental impact on their children.  
Click here to access an academic paper on this issue.
Click here to access a fairly recent English case judgement which was published to highlight just how bad things can become in these types of cases.

Male victims of domestic abuse. There remains an unacceptable stigma attached to male victims of domestic abuse and often they cannot get access to the help and support that they need. According to certain statistics, one-third of all victims of domestic abuse are male. Yet, what we see in practice is very little support for these victims. Click here to read a helpful factsheet produced by the Mankind Initiative.

More examples coming soon.

Legal issues

We consider relevant issues affecting men both from a civil and criminal law perspective.

e.g. false allegations. Statistically, men are at higher risk of becoming a victim of false allegations. The impact that this can have on an individual’s life is immense and cannot be understated.
Click here for a link to an external resource which has some good information on this issue. 

We have an interest in International Parental Child Abduction. This is where a child is removed from their normal place of residence by one parent and taken (or abducted) to another country without the knowledge or consent of the other parent. In these types of cases, it is men who are at a higher risk of having their child abducted by the other parent according to a study carried out by Reunite, the UK’s leading charity on this issue.
Our CEO has lobbied the Scottish Government to close certain loopholes existing in Scotland on this issue to help protect children and parents in Scotland against this form of child abuse.  Mainstream press reports are available online.

More examples coming soon.

General Social issues

e.g we have an interest in exploring issues around the unfair treatment of men in society and within the justice system.

We also recognise that sometimes for men the daily grind can just become too much, whether it is the result of certain pressures in life; stress and anxiety; money and financial problems; debt; unemployment; welfare and benefits; problems with other people etc. Sometimes they just need somewhere to turn to for a bit of support through a tough time.