The former Labor leader hasn't made the splash many expected when he joined One Nation, avoiding a TV interview and leaving his leader alone on TV.

OPINION

I feel the same way about Mark Latham that Labor probably does: I can’t believe he’s been one of us and wish he’d just go away.

By one of us, I mean men. Decent men. He doesn’t deserve that title.

Today, he has said that domestic violence isn’t about patriarchy or toxic masculinity, it’s about socio-economics.

This myth he’s peddling is not just wilfully ignorant but downright dangerous.

Violence against women is driven by one thing, and one thing primarily: gender inequality.

It is absolutely about toxic masculinity and patriarchy. Of course Latham will claim it isn’t. He’s a patriarch and a toxic male.

The necessary social context for violence against women to occur happens within a toxic patriarchy — where men’s control of decision-making limits women’s independence.

Where disrespect towards women and male peer relations emphasise aggression.

Where a condoning or normalising of violence against women and stereotyped constructions of masculinity and femininity set all the awful conditions for violence to happen.

LATHAM, DEEP DOWN, KNOWS THIS

Latham knows this but it doesn’t fit his #NotAllMen propaganda campaign to admit it. So he uses his Sky News appearances to trot out unsubstantiated nonsense.

Many would ask, why, then, give his comments credence by responding to them here? Two reasons.

First, violence against women is preventable if we challenge the condoning of it, correct the misreporting of it and promote and normalise gender equality in public life.

In other words, call him out on his bullsh*t.

HE WON’T JUST GO AWAY

Second, Latham won’t just go away. He’s no longer a pathetic troll, the type who operates from their mother’s basement, hiding behind a cowardly and pathetic Twitter handle to troll abuse survivors like Rosie Batty.

He was easier to dismiss then. He’s now running for office again — in the upcoming NSW election. He’s a Legislative Council candidate for One Nation.

In his interview, he said, “The demonisation of men is out of control. Fair minded men think it has gone way too far.”

IT’S TIME TO CALL HIM OUT

Can every fair-minded man in Australia start by calling this out, please? Do you really want this man to speak for you? It shouldn’t just be left solely to women to — time and again — respond to this vitriolic stirring.

What is out of control is the domestic violence problem in this country. On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner and one in three Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15. That’s what you call gone way too far, Mark.

In terms of the socio-economic factors that, he claims, trump the patriarchal and toxic ones, Latham claims that, “Statistics actually show for every middle class man involved in a family or domestic dispute, there are 10 in a public housing estate and 25 in a remote indigenous community — so if you want to look at where the problem is heavily concentrated, it’s not about patriarchy or toxic masculinity, it’s about a socio economic factor and it’s in indigenous communities.”

This is more complex than Latham would have us believe. Socio-economic factors do play a role: those “middle class men” are inflicting violence on women who are less visible in the system. Women with greater access to resources like money, a job, support from friends and family, are more able to escape escalating family violence earlier.

The ones who can’t are the women with no income (often due to male financial control), the women who pack out the full-to-the-brim refuges.

The refuge is their last option — it means becoming homeless. If women with greater means have other options, they take them — and disappear from the system and the stats. Which, as we know, are already appalling.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE

Jacqui Watt, CEO of No to Violence, told news.com.au: “Anyone can be affected by the impacts of family violence, as gender inequality affects all women and children, not only a pocket of people living in low-socio economic areas.

“To echo Rosie Batty, it doesn’t matter how nice your house is, or how wealthy you are, domestic and family violence is driven by men believing that they have the right to control women and children.”

Latham claims that this supposed demonisation of men is “driven by some left feminists more about the propaganda than helping women in need”.

YES ALL MEN

I’m the only male on the Walkley Our Watch 2019 Fellowship, devised to improve the media coverage of violence against women in Australia.

I don’t feel demonised. I feel galvanised. I’ll call out the Lathams wherever and whenever they pop up, and I encourage other men to join me. Yes. All men.

One of my peers on the fellowship, News Corp journalist Sherele Moody, independently runs the Red Heart campaign, which counts murder and manslaughter in Australia. She points out that two women were killed by men in 24 hours this week. In a single week last year, six women were killed by men in Australia.

Let’s not feed the “monster myth” — that a violent man is that different in demographics from you. He could be any race, any class and he could well appear to be the “perfect neighbour”.

But appearances are as deceptive as Mark Latham’s dodgy statistics book.

Yes, all men are capable of inflicting violence. Improving socio-economic conditions won’t resolve this problem. Achieving true gender equality will.

Gary Nunn is a freelance journalist and Walkley Our Watch Fellowship 2019 recipient | @garynunn1

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence or sexual assault, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

If you are concerned about your behaviour and would like support and help, please call the Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491 or head to ntv.org.au to chat online.