Jackson Katz Teaching Men To Stand Up For Abused Women

There’s no such thing as a bad TED talk really. And every one we have seen shows us the amazing people in this world working to make a difference, using their skills and experience to share with others in a unique and profound way.

Today we stumbled upon this little gem from Jackson Katz Ph.D titled ‘Violence and Silence’ who spoke about the issue of violence against women. It was astounding to see a powerful and influential guy like this who regularly works with the military and high level sporting teams in the issue of leadership to break down this subject.

Jackson Katz we love you. If you don’t know who this guy is, he is an anti-sexist activist and expert on violence, media and masculinities. An author, filmmaker, educator and social theorist, Katz has worked in gender violence prevention work with diverse groups of men and boys in sports culture and the military, and has pioneered work in critical media literacy.Katz is the creator and co-founder of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, which advocates the ‘bystander approach’ to sexual and domestic violence prevention. You’ve also seen him in the award winning documentary “MissRepresentation.”

There were a few main points he made that you all should take away from this whether you are a male or female.

The first important point he brought up was that violence is just as much of male issue as it is women. When we think of domestic violence or sexual abuse we think of it from the women’s point of few as a victim and don’t put enough emphasis on why the male is the way he is.

In the first ten minutes (around the 9 min mark) he goes on to praise the strength and perseverance of the women’s movement as they haven’t been afraid to use their voices. Jackson thinks everyone everywhere should thank women for their tireless efforts when it comes to such serious matters like violence, it was heart warming to hear indeed.

The second main point he expounded, which stems from his extensive work with the military and sport industry, is that violence and abuse is not a “sensitivity issue” but a leadership one. He urges men in positions of great power to use their responsibility to lead other mean to develop healthy attitudes when it comes to women, and not just foster an environment of jokes, sexism, racism and so forth.

Otherwise, he says, we become bystanders. Bystanders are those people bred for inaction and don’t have the wherewithal to stand up for violence against women. If you aren’t a perpetrator or a victim, you are just a bystander, and his whole 18 minute talk is a huge push to change that.

So please please do yourselves a favor, watch this video, share it with EVERY man and woman you know today.