What's available in Tasmania to help men break the cycle of violence?

Ryk Goddard
What is actually being done to change things to make a safe society, particularly for women? Jonathan Bedloe is Vice President of Men's Resources Tasmania. What kind of things do you do at Men's Resources Tasmania?

Jonathon Bedloe
Yeah, so Ryk, look, the first thing I want to say is to acknowledge, you know, the terrible news that we keep hearing each week and that, yes, we fully agree violence against women needs to stop, along with the trolling comments of journalists and things like that when they report on it. So we hear you and yes, we want to help. And as you're saying, for us, we need to acknowledge that men do experience violence as well, both from women, but also primarily from other men as well. So we need to acknowledge that. In terms of what we're doing, look, our focus is not really on addressing violence per se. We've been focused on advocating for men, but we're currently running a program or developing a program to work in the prison, to work with men, to help them around how they communicate, help them understand who they are, essentially help them with their own inner journey, which is very much one of the things we think needs to happen and that men need to be supported on to help them change if that's what they want to do.

Ryk Goddard
So is this about men learning ways to express emotion that don't involve violence, but at the same time, don't say, look, you're a bad person?

Jonathon Bedloe
Yeah, that's right. I think when we shame men, we alienate them and we push them away. And so we feel we need to have a constructive conversation, give them some tools, some understanding, some education, in many ways, actually give them some different forms of power, because many men I think who use violence are actually feeling powerless and they're resorting to the one sense of power they feel they have. We need to give them power over their words, power over their language, over their emotions, and they need support to find those ways.

Ryk Goddard
Jonathan, how are so many men, and let's be honest, this is men through every level of society, getting to adulthood, feeling that powerless and that unable to understand how to process feelings other than through violence?

Jonathon Bedloe
Well, it's a huge thing, isn't it? And I mean, look, for me, from where I sit, I think one of the big things we need to do and that politicians actually need to make some hard decisions around real support for men and boys, we kind of deny the reality for a lot of men and boys, not all men and boys, but for a lot. We know that boys' educational outcomes have actually fallen behind girls pretty much right through the spectrum. So we're not doing things that meet boys where their needs are at, and we're not even acknowledging that there's a problem at the moment. In Norway, fantastic news, there's a Men's Equality Commission report that's just come out yesterday where they're actually acknowledging that there needs to be some real action to address men's inequalities, the inequalities that men experience, which are different from women. We don't have to deny the inequalities women experience in order to do that. But I think unless we do start meeting men where they're at and responding to some of their needs, it's going to be difficult to engage them.

Ryk Goddard
Former AFL football legend Phil Cleary said this week that the crisis is coming at a time where women are asserting their independence and there's an underbelly of men outraged that women are not towing the line they have for generations. Do you see that as part of the issue, that men aren't accepting women's right to leave a relationship?

Jonathon Bedloe
I imagine that is the issue for some people, but it doesn't make it right. And I don't agree that it's understandable. I think, you know, of course, we need, we want women to have their place in the world. We actually need women to have their place in the world and to be equal players in all things across our society, not necessarily in numbers in terms of what we all do. I think we need to have equality of opportunity, not necessarily equality of outcome. But we're, you know, in, yeah, so I think I would challenge those guys who are feeling that way. I hear you. Let's explore that. Let's have a conversation. Let's go on a journey together. Come join a men's group, join some men's organisations and actually go on that journey and explore how equality for women will actually also be good for men, just as addressing male inequalities will be good for women. Look, there's TasMen, Men's Table, Men's Sheds are a few. Relationships Australia run a tiny program for men at risk of using violence. Other, you know, all the usual services like Anglicare, Men's Referral Service, DV Alert is a program from Life. I know they're starting to work with men in that space and then gender equality as well.