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A key theme in the campaign is the freedom of men to feel, display and express emotions other than anger, and many of the promotional materials show pictures of men with tears on their cheeks.

“If you can’t emote as a man, if there is no room for that, to learn as you grow, or rediscover, then the only way that you deal with any emotional turmoil is through anger, and that’s the direct connection that we see in violence. It is no wonder that if something isn’t going right in your relationship and the only thing you know how to express is anger, I mean anger manifests itself in violence,” Kelsey said.

“So many things that we do seem to reinforce this idea that men are not allowed to do things, they’re not allowed to have full expression, and we are all part of that. I know that when I look back at how I’ve reacted to some things growing up or as a young woman, I remember making men feel as though they should be ashamed, somehow, for going outside of that box. And I feel guilt about that. I think that it’s really important that I express that and say, ‘You know what, I own that. I am part of this. We are all part of this issue,’ ” she said.

The campaign will host a press conference Thursday with Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale, during which a report on gender-based violence will be released.

“The travelling Confessions of Masculinity Booth will be there!” the group says.

A spokesman for Goodale would not say whether the minister will confess his own sins of masculinity, but said he is attending “to express support for efforts to address sexual assault and violence both on campus and around the country.”