A tide change is building further with a recent invitation by the Human Rights Commission for several groups to provide submissions concerning discrimination against men. MoMA provided submissions towards this. An historic meeting was held yesterday involving David Rutherford (Chief Human Rights Commissioner), Peter Jackson (Operations Manager Human Rights Commission), Kerry Bevin (MoMA), Craig Jackson (Family Advocate), Jack Gielen (Suicide Prevention Trust) and Bruce Tichbon (Families Apart Require Equality). Amazingly, the Chief Commissioner acknowledged a number of the men’s groups’ concerns and discussed ways forward. A further meeting was planned for about February next year.

This may not seem earth shattering but the fact is that men have been left out in the cold for a long time now, most men’s movement issues have been ignored and most advice disregarded. It’s heartening to be taken seriously.

Incidentally, the Broadcasting Standards Authority is shortly due to consider a complaint from MoMA that Radio NZ published fallacious family homicide statistics then refused to correct them even after being informed they were wrong. Their figures misrepresented family homicide as being something that women suffered 2.3 times more often as men, when in fact men suffer 43% and women 57% of family homicides.

Keep up your efforts, they are adding to the tide.