3 radio mates unite to shine a national spotlight on domestic violence

As domestic violence against women and children remains at crisis levels, three radio mates have created the first national day of action, specifically aimed at men.

Launching today (May 8), the initiative was founded by former SCA creative director Paul Chappell, ex-Macquarie Media content solutions coordinator Ben Lucas and creative coach Wade Kingsley (ex-Nova & SCA)

May8 (pronounced ‘mate’) challenges Australian men to stop being bystanders and start taking action.

With recent stats showing that 2 in 5 Australian women have experienced violence since age 15 and approximately one woman is killed by an intimate partner every 10 days, Chappell, Lucas and Kingsley say there’s an urgent need to get men off the sidelines and into action.

May8 research conducted by Ideally has shown that while 84% of Australian men believe domestic violence against women and children to be one of the most important issues facing Australians, 41% believe that men aren’t speaking up about the issue because they don’t know what to do.

40% believe they don’t see it as their responsibility.

“Most men are horrified by domestic violence statistics but don’t know where to start in taking action,” says Kingsley.

“We’re not experts in this space. We’re just three blokes who saw a gap that needed filling.”

“May8 is about giving men practical ways to do something rather than nothing.”

The initiative was born from a moment of reflection last year, when the founders noticed a week of particularly shocking violence against women making headlines across Australia.

“That week forced us to ask ourselves, why aren’t we doing more? And if we’re not doing enough, chances are most men aren’t either,” says Lucas.

“Talking with my partner about the family violence stories in the news, it became clear that I wasn’t comfortable bringing it up with my mates. That made me reflect on why that was. If I knew that it was an issue that men needed to do more to help solve, why wasn’t I comfortable talking about it with my mates?”

“The evidence is clear, men don’t know where to start. And that’s what May8 is all about. Creating an opportunity to put the guard down and begin learning about this issue and how they can help without feeling threatened.”

“May8 is about making it easy for men to take that first step,”

Working with an advisory group of experts in domestic violence prevention, May8 has developed a list of eight practical actions men can take.

May8 has been developed with guidance from a diverse advisory group of domestic violence experts, including frontline workers from women’s shelters and financial abuse specialists. More info here.