Josh Fenton-Glynn MP: “We must create a shift in society towards prevention”

When you are first elected as an MP, as I was last July, you have a blank canvas to choose which subjects to focus on. Your constituency, passions and principles will define what you do next. One of the areas I’ve found myself focusing on is violence against women and girls. I believe everyone has a duty to challenge injustice wherever they see it. But one thing that struck me as I started to get involved in more active campaigning was the desperate need for more men and boys to take part in the conversation.  

I have been surprised by how few of my male colleagues are prepared to speak about such a straightforward issue. Women should have the same right to feel safe as men, at present that isn’t the case, and that is because of men. White Ribbon is a campaign I was involved with before becoming an MP and one I’m proud to continue representing in Parliament.  

Male politicians have a tendency to mention the women in their lives when arguing for women’s rights, “as a father of daughters…”. And while I love my mother, wife and daughter, I don’t think you should only care about human rights in relation to the people in your life. I campaign for women’s rights because I am a human being and it’s the right thing to do. 

Basic human dignity is not limited by gender, but too often in our society because men tend to be physically stronger this is thrown into question. Too often, whether explicitly through the voices of misogynists like Andrew Tate, or implicitly through policies and assumptions in policy it is accepted that women remain at greater risk. This is wrong.  

It should shame us that each year 1 in 12 women is the victim of gender-based violence. This should not be normalised but considered as an emergency and an epidemic. It is why this government have said we will halve violence against women and girls over 10 years. I want the police to better understand how to work with victims of domestic violence. The West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing Alison Lowe is doing brilliant work in this area, and we need to keep focused on making progress. 

I see through my casework the heartbreaking impacts abuse in relationships can have on women and their children. It’s positive that we as a society are beginning to develop a better knowledge of types of abuse beyond the physical – such as coercive control – but it’s also clear we need do work to bring some aspects of our legal system into line with that understanding. A good example is the family courts, and I have been working with my colleague Marie Tidball MP to change the law around presumption of contact in cases of abuse. We have a long way to go, but I’m proud to be a male voice pushing for progress on these issues. 

We must create a shift in society towards prevention. Boys must grow up in a world where it is normal to treat women and girls with respect. They also need to be taught how to express feelings of anger and aggression in ways that do not lead to violence. Changing deeply ingrained attitudes is not simple. But with action at all levels, from education to policy reform, cultural norms can and do evolve. All men – whether in our families, workplaces, communities, or positions of power – can be part of that change. Starting in Westminster.