Today Could Be 'Biggest Ever' International Men's Day UK

The team behind International Men’s Day (Sunday, November 19) believe 2023 will be the biggest ever involving over 600 organisations.

The likelihood is that public support will surpass 2021 and 2022, where there was a huge response on social media (100,000 #internationalmensday tweets) and attendance at meetings, conferences and service launches.

Events will be happening across the UK in the week before and the week after, as well as the day itself.

The event is used as a platform for organisations and the public to focus on men and boys’ wellbeing, support charities working in this area and also to promote a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity.

International Men’s Day in the UK has grown over the past decade from just 12 organisations being involved in 2012 with the Men and Boys Coalition charity responsible for the event platform. There are now community events, mental health discussions, award announcements, student events, charity promotion campaigns, political events, lectures, conferences, staff support days, film showings, get-togethers and fundraisers.

Many of the events run by employers, charities and universities are focussing on mental health and other health issues, which are especially important given that 13 men die by suicide every day,  33 die due to prostate cancer every day and 88 per day die prematurely from heart disease.

Boys are also behind girls throughout education, 85% of rough sleepers are men and over 700,000 men suffer from domestic abuse every year (see ten key facts below). There are 80,000 men in prison and 3,000 boys are excluded from school every year.

Many charities are  also using International Men’s Day to launch new services, campaigns and research with sports clubs (including football) using it to encourage their fans to seek help and talk if they are struggling.

Mark Brooks OBE, National Ambassador of International Men’s Day UK, said:

“The fact that so many organisations across the UK have embraced International Men’s Day again this year shows how much the wellbeing of men and boys matter. It is a time where everyone can come together and focus on recognising and finding solutions to the issues they face - the hallmark of an inclusive society.

“International Men’s Day also provides an important opportunity to showcase the brilliant work of charities that support men and boys which are growing in number and in scale. Many are using the day to launch new services, campaigns and initiatives.” –

“We are also expecting a huge response again from the public especially on social media to urge men who need support to reach out and talk. It is expected that again there will also be thousands of women marking International Men’s Day with warm messages about how important their fathers, brothers, sons, male friends and colleagues are to them.

“International Men’s Day is an inclusive platform and fully supports International Women’s Day. Many, of events and social media activity are Ied by women. This shows men and boys, and, women and girls recognise they share their lives society together.”

-------

TEN KEY FACTS ABOUT MEN AND BOYS’ WELLBEING (UK)

The House of Commons Library has a briefing packed with statistics about the wellbeing of men and boys as part of the House of Commons’ International Men’s Day debate in 2022.

 The use of comparisons with women are for context reasons, it is not a competition between men and women.

 (1) Prostate Cancer

On average, c12,000 men (12,039) die from prostate cancer every year (2017-2018 average). This is 33 per day, one every 45 minutes) – the most recent figures available. Up from 11,307 in 2014. Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in males in the UK, accounting for 14% of all cancer deaths in males in the UK (2017-2019

 (2) Suicide

In 2021, 4,704 men in England, Wales and Scotland took their own lives. With 2020 figures from Northern Ireland (160), this means nearly 5,000 men per year lose their lives this way. This is the equivalent of 13 per day. Men make up 75% of all deaths by suicide and it is the biggest cause of male deaths under 50.

(3) Covid-19

99,914 men and 82,274 women died from Covid-19 between March 2020 and December 2022, with clear disparities based on age.

(4) University Entry

In September 2023: 33,900 fewer 18-year-old UK boys started university in September in 2022 –  118,230 men (43.7% of total) and 152,120 women (56.3%). 

 (5) GCSEs

52.7% of girls and 47% of boys got a grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths in 21/22.

By 2019, boys have had worse exam results than girls for 30 years. 

 (6) Exclusions and NEETS

4,677 boys were excluded from school in 21/22  (72% of the total).

Over 400,000 men between 16-24 in Apr-June 23 were Not in Education Employment or Training

 (7) Rough Sleeping

2,539 men were found to be sleeping rough in Autumn 2022 in England. Men make up 85% of rough sleepers. 

(8) Prison

There are  90,000 men in prison – enough to fill Wembley Stadium. They make up 96% of the prison population.

 (9) Domestic Abuse

In 21/22, 699,000 men and 1.671 million women aged 16 and over were victims of domestic abuse in 2021/22.

 (10) Sexual Violence/Abuse

155,000 men were estimated to have been victims of sexual assault in 2019/20 (618,000 women) . 989,000 men in total have been a victim of sexual assault since they were 16. In addition, 7,000 men were raped or victims of attempted rape (132,000 women) in 2019/20. 87,000 men in total have been raped or been victims of rapes since they were 16.

Further information on a range of men and boys issues can be found on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Issues Affecting Men and Boys and Men and Boys Coalition.