The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today launched a campaign calling for men to intervene when their friends use misogynistic language.
The ‘Say Maaate to a Mate’ campaign aims to empower men to tackle misogyny when they see it, helping to eradicate the culture of male violence against women.
Research commissioned by the Mayor found that 75% of young men in London had witnessed misogyny – 96% of whom had seen such behaviour among their family, friends and acquaintances – but only 24% of them would call it out every time.
Khan said, “My new campaign recognises that male violence against women and girls often starts with words. That’s why I’m determined to ensure that men and boys feel empowered to call out their mates when their behaviour crosses the line. ‘Maaate’ is a simple and effective intervention that can help stop problematic language and behaviour in its tracks.”
Tackling violence against women and girls has long been a priority for Khan, who launched the #HaveAWord campaign last year, encouraging young men and boys to intervene when they witnessed their friends using sexist language or behaviour.
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Speaking to GLAMOUR, Sadiq Khan said, “If you deal with violence against women and girls as a public health issue, what do you do with the public health issue? You deal with the infection. So that's where the enforcement's very important. We stop it from spreading, but ideally, you stop the infection from occurring in the first place. So that's what this conversation is about.”
He continued, "We're trying to give men the tools when another may act in inappropriately or in a sexist misogynistic way. Cause I'm afraid it is a conveyor belt. We'll start with men saying inappropriate things to other men. It's a safe, safe space for men, and then that, that can escalate and so forth.
"Women by themselves aren't gonna end violence against women and girls. Just like people of colour aren't gonna end racism. We need allies and this film is about allyship.
#HaveAWord.
Romesh Ranganathan, who is supporting the Mayor's campaign, spoke to GLAMOUR about the reasoning behind the ‘Maate’ technique. “We are looking to try and change attitudes at source […] When certain attitudes are allowed to go unchecked, that can lead to problems down the line. It escalates, and people think certain things are acceptable.”
He continued, “It's men that start off with misogynistic attitudes and talking about women [in a misogynistic way] who end up committing violence against women.”
Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Andrea Simon, has also supported the campaign: “The End Violence Against Women Coalition has been calling for long-term public campaigns to shift the sexist attitudes that drive violence against women and girls. To address this abuse, we need to challenge and change the attitudes that trivialise abuse and blame victims and instead create a more equal society in which we can hold each other accountable.
“Too often, campaigns are targeted at women and girls - wrongly placing the responsibility on us to ‘keep ourselves safe’. But ending men's violence against women is everyone’s business. That’s why we welcome the Mayor’s focus on engaging men and boys in these conversations and providing practical support on how we can all play an active role in ending this abuse.”
For more information about emotional abuse and domestic violence, you can call The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247.
For more information about reporting and recovering from rape and sexual abuse, you can contact Rape Crisis.
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
