Time to give men attention!

Wayne Campbell, Contributor

Monday, November 19 will be celebrated globally as International Men's Day. For far too long, this very important day has not found the buzz it deserves.

The theme for this year, 'Helping men and boys live longer, happier, healthier lives', is appropriate, given the ongoing debate regarding the minimal attention a significant number of our males pay to their health. By now we should have realised that for any society to have harmony in gender relations between both sexes, there must be the requisite awareness and support to those issues surrounding and impacting our boys and men.

As a society, we have not paid sufficient attention to those issues affecting our males. It is not enough for men only to have a male desk within the Bureau of Women's Affairs to deal with male issues. The time has come for the Jamaican male to have his own 'bureau'. The time has also come for the necessary funding and staff to be put in place to ensure that boys and men live longer, happier and healthier lives.

If our men live longer, it's very likely that family life and the role men play in community and family will be strengthened.

universal issues

There are a number of universal issues men and boys face, especially from a health perspective. Some of these include lower life expectancy, difficulty accessing mental-health services, educational disadvantages, the lack of male role models, and the tolerance of violence against men and boys.

From the moment a male is born, he can expect to live a shorter life than his female counterpart in most countries of the world. In Jamaica, the life expectancy rate for males is 71.5 years compared to 75 years for females.

In Jamaica, men, for whatever reason, tend to shy away from going to the doctor or the health practitioner. As men, we usually wait and wait until the pain has become unbearable and intolerable before we seek out medical care. This tendency certainly has negative implications for the quality of life for our men.

It can be argued that men are socialised to be rough and tough. A male who is always going to the doctor is not viewed favourably by other males, as this is not considered macho. As a result, many men suffer in silence from various health issues. Men are always the last to go to talk with a counsellor or psychiatrist because of pride and the male ego.

Additionally, the accessibility and affordability of mental care should be of grave concern. Not enough public-sector mental-health facilities exist in our society.

Caribbean females are largely outattending and outperforming their male peers at all levels of the education systems and in almost all disciplines. The root of this problem runs deep in the prevailing ideology of the sexual division of labour in which men are assumed to be breadwinners and, therefore, they do not devote sufficient attention to invest in education.

Data from the Ministry of Education Statistics Division show that boys have a higher dropout rate than girls, especially at the secondary level. If our boys and men are underperforming, this will impact their quality of life in terms of their economic chances.

needed: more good men

The need for positive role models for our young men cannot be overstated. We live in a society where male leadership is lacking. Our institutions of socialisation such as the school and Church themselves struggle with the problem.

With more and more families being headed by females, there continue to be the urgent need for men of good character to mentor our boys. A mother cannot teach her son how to be a man. Too many of our males have abdicated their roles.

Every year, more than 500,000 people die from violence and 83 per cent of them are men and boys. There is clearly a need for a campaign for the elimination of violence against men and boys globally. There should be zero tolerance of violence against any male, regardless of his socio-economic background, sexual orientation or political affiliation.

Addressing each of these challenges male face will greatly assist men and boys all over the world to live longer, happier and healthier.

On this very important day, let us celebrate our collective masculinity, while recognising our differences as men. Let us reclaim our roles in our families as we work towards improving gender relations and promote unity in the Jamaican society.

Wayne Campbell is an educator. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and waykam@yahoo.com.