Men are three times as likely as women to die by suicide – that’s why we need International Men’s Day Do men have excellent role models? Are we emotionally well balanced, anchored for psychological good health and stable relationships?

I understand the criticisms of International Men’s Day.

Some people continue to be offended by the concept, arguing that it is equivalent to holding a white history month, or that every day is men’s day. Finding evidence to support this viewpoint is easy.

Yet are we happy with what passes for masculinity in 2019? Is everyone confident that young men are growing up in a culture that has dispensed with outdated stereotypes?

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Do men have excellent role models? Are we emotionally well balanced, anchored for psychological good health and stable relationships?

Are we able to support the other people in our lives, be they women or men? No?

Mental health challenges

Crippling taboos around men’s mental health continue. Boys and young men are drilled to hide their emotions. Too few men in trouble ask for the help they need.

In the UK, suicide remains the most common cause of death for men aged between 20 and 49. Men in their late forties have the highest rate, and the rate increased last year among under-25s.

Men are three times as likely to die by suicide than are women.

None of this negates the need to tackle the gross inequalities that limit women’s life choices and representation, and have done for millennia. See i’s headlines – or those in most other newspapers – on pretty much any day of the week.

Men can need help too

Not every man enjoys a life of uninterrupted privilege, though, and sweeping generalisations only take us so far.

Ill health and misfortune do not discriminate by gender. Encouraging men to spend one day of the year addressing these issues, and promoting positive role models, can do no harm.

Bake Off’s Michael Chakraverty – who wrote recently for us on anxiety following his panic attack on the show – explains why he has become a convert to International Men’s Day.

If the event saves a single life that might otherwise be lost, who could argue with its mission? One day the man who needs help might be yours.

Twitter: @olyduff