Article written by Rory, founder of the Men’s Project.
The views expressed in this opinion piece reflect the personal opinions of the author. This article has been reviewed and approved for publication by the LSU Media Chair, and any feedback should be directed to [email protected] for their response.
Before you read this, think of a male student you know. Picture their face while you read. Behind every statistic is an individual man with feelings, pain, and aspirations. We must not forget this.
I created The Men’s Project because something was missing. From my perspective, men at Loughborough University haveno dedicated group to support them and raise awareness of their issues. Every initiative I planned aimed to fill the gaps.
The greatest risk to a male student is himself. Suicide1 is the leading cause of death for men in their 20s, and they are over three times more likely to die by suicide compared to women. Men are also three times more likely to die of a drug overdose2, another death of despair. Speaker’s Corner, Common Ground, and Reverse Q&A would have raised awareness of these issues and created opportunities to discuss and tackle them.
Boys are falling behind at every stage of education. Boys have been outpaced by girls in secondary school for three decades3. At A levels, boys are behind in 34 out of 38 subjects4. At university, they are at the highest risk of dropping out, according to policy researcher Richard Reeves in his book,‘Of Boys and Men’5. These issues contribute to suicide, as research6 finds suicidal men can feel they are killing a ‘failed self’. Momentum was designed to support men to achieve their goals, and Beyond Normal to give men relatable role models who encourage them to realise their potential.
Socially, men are struggling. Nearly a third of men claim they have no close friends7, and over two thirds of men don’t share their personal feelings8 with their friends. This is important, again, because poor interpersonal connections are a major risk for male suicide6. Socials and Talk Club were planned to help men connect with each other and form deep emotional relationships.
As I’ve tried to show, men’s issues are not just mental health issues. Men are struggling because of a web of social, economic and cultural issues. Thinking we can eradicate men’s struggles with more mental health support is like thinking we can solve the obesity crisis with more treadmills. Suicide is not a virus men suddenly catch, it results from a festering chronic pain; the pain of being crushed under a wall of insurmountable problems built brick by brick over years. Detractors of the project who think men only need mental health support are, therefore, missing the broader picture. The project was designed to address men’s issues from this essential broader perspective.
My plans were well researched and supported by experts. Advisors to the Samaritans, members of the Men & Boys Coalition, and former leadership of the British Psychological Society all voiced their encouragement. One even said that the National Union of Students should make my project the benchmark for men’s networks across UK universities. But this wasn’t enough for the Loughborough Student’s Union (LSU). Despite all the evidence and support, they shut it down. And, in my opinion, they didn’t shut it down for the reasons you think.
Behind the scenes, it didn’t seem like the project would be cancelled. My plans were evaluated by Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) over several months. They understood my motivations were pro-men, not anti-women, and that I had a strategy to address the risks. During the feedback period, the Executive Officers prepared a document responding to each specific criticism; the responses used the same reasoning and risk mitigation strategies that had existed in my plans all along. With the LSU’s clear understanding of my intentions, counters to the criticism, and mitigation strategies agreed for the handful of risks, nothing I saw indicated the project was on a downward slope. Then everything turned 180 degrees.
In my opinion, The Men’s Project was really cancelled over safeguarding concerns. In a meeting announcing their decision, the LSU led their justification with concerns for my safety. They believed the online backlash would manifest in-person, with myself or students attending project events being harassed or even assaulted. They said they had no way to deal with this risk, so had to shut the project down. Safeguarding concerns even spread to the name, with the LSU suggesting anything tied to a Men’s Project could attract too much backlash to bear. When they told me student feedback was a factor, I addressed the critiques as I had before, and they deflected back to safeguarding. None of my good intentions,the risk mitigation plans, or the counters to criticism mattered anymore. Apparently, it’s just too risky to advocate for struggling men.
The LSU’s final statement is a red herring. It implies they sawstudents were concerned for women’s safety, concluded The Men’s Project was a credible threat, and consequently shut it down. This implication is ridiculous. If there was even a scent of danger towards women, EDI would have cancelled the project months ago. Other concerns like the spread of extreme views had already been addressed in the plans. All this statement does is distract from the fact that the LSU will cave to backlash. It doesn’t matter if you can rationally dismantlethe criticism, it doesn’t matter if you have the support of experts, and it doesn’t matter if you’re tackling importantproblems. If enough people get angry, you are doomed to fail.
The LSU has missed a huge opportunity. They missed the opportunity to safeguard male students, as these initiatives could have prevented them from getting anywhere close to suicide. They missed a chance to acknowledge men’s struggles, instead telling men they are undeserving of a dedicated network for their needs. They also missed the chance to be pioneers, as this would have been the first university men’s network in the whole of the UK.
I’ll close out with a question for the University and the LSU: If not The Men’s Project, what will you do to address male suicide, male loneliness, male students falling behind in education, and the flood of other problems we face?
You had a solution served to you on a plate, but you threw it away.
Note: This article has taken eight weeks to publish due to continued pushback from the LSU.
Note: LSU Directors have provided the links below which are intended to offer additional context to the situation.
TMP Official Response: 13.08.2024
In need of support or advice? Loughborough University’s Student Services offer support for all students across a wide range of mental health and wellbeing topics. You can request support from the University’s Mental Wellbeing advisers by using the Mental Wellbeing Referral Form.
References:
1. Office for National Statistics (2020), Leading causes of death, UK: 2001 to 2018, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/articles/leadingcausesofdeathuk/2001to2018.
2. Office for National Statistics (2023), Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2022 registrations,https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoninginenglandandwales/2022registrations.
3. BBC News (2020), School league tables: Boys behind girls for three decades, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-51313438.
4. Buckingham University (2022), Are Schools Failing Boys?, Centre for Education and Employment Research https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/research/ceer/publications.
5. Reeves, Richard (2022), Of Boys and Men, Swift Press, p16.
6. Bennett, S., Robb, K. A., Zortea, T. C., Dickson, A., Richardson, C., & O’Connor, R. C. (2023). Male suicide risk and recovery factors: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis of two decades of research. Psychological Bulletin, 149(7-8), 371–417.
7. YouGov (2019), How many people don’t have a best friend? https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/25305-quarter-britons-dont-have-best-friend?redirect_from=%2Ftopics%2Fsociety%2Farticles-reports%2F2019%2F09%2F25%2Fquarter-britons-dont-have-best-friend
8. Cox, Daniel (2021), The State of American Friendship: Change, Challenges, and Loss,https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/
