Step 2 Part 2 Fact Sheet 16: men and #MeToo

Men and #MeToo

1in6 is a Los Angeles-based non-profit group that supports male sex abuse survivors. The group's development and communications director Meredith Alling told the BBC that #MeToo had a rapid, measurable impact on the number of men reaching out to them when the hashtag first went viral. “We saw a 110% increase in web traffic and a 103% increase in the use of our online helpline service between September and October 2017, and the trend has continued,” she said. In the US, employers are considering how best to create a positive workplace culture in the wake of #MeToo. 

Ted Bunch is the co-founder of A Call To Men: a social activism group that promotes healthy, respectful ways of “being a man”. Bunch says the group has noticed an increase in enquiries. “Most notably, we have seen an increase in corporations seeking to understand why sexual harassment in the workplace is so pervasive,” he explains. Bunch believes problems can arise because the workplace is a microcosm of society, in which men and boys are sometimes taught to view women as objects, and of less value than men. “Most men are not abusive”, he says, “but nearly all men have laughed at a sexist joke or objectified a woman in some way. Once you connect the dots and show men how the jokes they see as harmless actually validate and fuel more harmful behavior, they are quick to change.”
(source)