In case you missed it, today is International Men’s Day.
It’s not an officially sanctioned United Nations day but it’s now recognised in over 60 nations around the world, so let’s get behind it!
This year the focus is as follows :-
‘Keeping Men and Boys Safe’
The five challenges for 2013:
1. Tackling male suicide
2. Keeping men and boys safe to allow them to become tomorrow’s role models
3. End tolerance of violence towards men and boys
4. Boost men’s life expectancy by keeping men and boys safe from avoidable illness
5. Keeping men and boys safe by promoting fathers and male role models
Statistically, men are much, much more likely to commit suicide. Men and boys globally are also much more likely to be killed as a result of violence. Did you know that 7 out of 10 murders victims in the UK are men? The majority of the 300,000 child soldiers around the world are boys, (yes it’s true that girls are also used as child soliders and that is, of course, also horrific), but violence is a way of life for hundreds of thousands of young boys. Tragically, every hour there are around 150 acts of violence against men and boys. In fact, according to the office of national statistics, last year a staggering 800,000 men were victims of domestic violence (as opposed to 1.2 million women). Of course, men are not very likely to speak out about this … nor are the 1 in 6 boys who are sexually abused … yes, 1 in 6.
CVM exists to go to the heart causes of these issues. We believe that true transformation comes from an encounter with Jesus Christ. You can see a great testimony here: http://www.yesheis.com/en/v/rob-sanassis-story
In the mean time, please consider how you might be able to help contribute to the change that we desperately need to see.
Ps. CVM salutes everyone, men and women, who are always cheering men on – not just on International Mens Day!
