World Health Organization: Stop Treating Men Like Second-Class Citizens

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: +44 7967 026163

World Health Organization: Stop Treating Men Like Second-Class Citizens

November 16, 2023 – Last week MP Pauline Hanson took to the floor of the Australian Senate to denounce the hysterical allegations of sexual misconduct against Bruce Lehrmann. Hanson ridiculed the rise of “believe the woman justice,” and ended her remarks with this searing conclusion: “Public lynching of men has become our national sport.”

While Hanson was alluding to whether Lehrmann had indulged in sex without permission to forego a condom, she just as easily could have been referring to the life-threatening and unconscionable neglect of men’s health by the World Health Organization.

In every country around the world, men have shorter life expectancies than women. In Armenia, Belarus, and Russia, the sex disparity exceeds a stunning 10 years (1). Over the years, the UN health agency has issued numerous reports and fact sheets on women’s health (2). But inexplicably, the WHO has not published a single report or fact sheet about the health of men.

Male suicide is one of the leading causes of the lifespan sex disparity. The global suicide rate in males — 12.6 per 100,000 persons — is more than twice as high as among females — 5.4 per 100,000 (3). But the WHO’s “Suicide: Facts and Figures Globally” manages to omit this significant fact (4).

For decades, researchers have documented the fact that domestic violence affects nearly equal numbers of men and women (5). In Europe, a recent 15-country study found that 7.2% of males, compared to 5.4% of females, had been physically victimized since they started working or studying at their organization (6).

But ignoring these facts, in 2001 the WHO issued a report titled, “Putting Women First: Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic Violence against Women” (7). The first three words of the document’s title quickly dispel of any notions of gender equality or fairness for men.

Four years later, WHO released its “WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women” (8). But the World Health Organization has never done a multi-country study of domestic violence against men. Indeed, the WHO categorically denies the existence of female-perpetrated abuse (9).

The motto of the World Health Organization is “Health for All” (10). But the WHO’s wholescale erasure of men’s health reveals “Health for All” to be nothing more than an Orwellian cliché.

Pauline Hanson’s comment about the “public lynching of men” has begun to echo around the world (11). To salvage its tattered reputation, the World Health Organization must begin to emphasize the importance of men’s health, including support for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men on November 17. (12)

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 110 member organizations from 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/coalitions/davia/

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