Controversy has hit the streets of Naples, as a campaign to support male victims of abuse goes public. The ‘1523’ campaign, featuring a man cowering in the corner, covering his face with his hands, is at the centre of the backlash. With dozens of feminist organisations, and hundreds of women, demanding the images be removed, and the campaign, which launched a free support line for both male and female victims, be discontinued. And so the familiar backlash returns; “misleading”, “diminishing violence against women”, “undermining”, “a false equivalence”, “a decoy”, the same whines come from the same brittle mouths. The movement that proudly brands itself as ‘for men too’, stamps its feet like a child and causes uproar, when men dare to place a toe in the limelight. And so the people who demand ‘men must do more’, and speak of ‘the bare minimum’, offer nothing but whines and bigotry themselves. That’s right. The voice that told ‘men to talk’, has clearly now decided ‘…just not about that’. We see it in Naples today. Just one campaign to spread awareness for abused men, or one support service for male victims of domestic violence, is one too many for such people. Again, and again, we see it right across the world – campaigns, films, shelters, and policy that attempts to help abused men, so often precipitates the wrath of angry feminist organisations. These people who block entrances, bang pots and pans, and pull fire alarms, they bring shame upon themselves, and shame upon the wider feminist society who fail, once again, to call out such toxic members. A failure to practice the most basic tenant of their own existence – equality. So why are such people so repulsed by equality for men? And why is the movement that taught the world about ‘accountability’ so reluctant to take any for itself? What do you think? ~ Images by Judi Smith, Adam Wilson, Oleksandr Kurchev, Marcelo Alves.

2024-05-27