Mr. Seán Cooke:

Good morning to the Chair and the other members of the committee. I congratulate the Chair on her recent elevation. It is amazing what 25 years of hard work does for overnight success.

On behalf of the board of MDN, its staff, clients, participants and volunteers, I wish to express our gratitude on being offered the opportunity to contribute to the deliberations on gender equality, specifically domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. As a follow-up to our contributions to the Citizen's Assembly, we see it as both a privilege and necessity for men to be part of this discussion.

Having had that sense of privilege coming here today, I must not understate my network's sense of privilege, as a men's development organisation, in being part of this discussion. To be in this room not only with our colleagues from Safe Ireland and AkiDwA but also with the members is a true privilege and a significant moment for a developmental organisation like ours.

I am the chief executive officer of MDN. My aim today is to set out its stall and outline what it does. With me is our head of programmes, Mr. Colm Kelly Ryan, who will reflect on the recommendations and what we feel should be done. Also attending with me is our newest recruit, Mr. Kenny Doyle, our project development officer for research policy and advocacy. He started on Monday and we trust him here today.

I offer apologies on behalf of one of our colleagues, Mr. John Doyle, our director of services, who intended to be here today but could not make it owing to a prior engagement with our facilitators and partner support organisations on our domestic violence intervention programme, MEND.

Before we share our reflections, it would be useful to give a brief introduction to MDN, its work and its methodologies. The network celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It was established in 1997 in the south east of Ireland by a group of men who were supporting each other to be the best fathers and partners possible. This group was developing greater awareness of how the system of patriarchy impacted negatively upon them, their partners and their families.

The men also readily acknowledge their own sense of privilege.

We have our headquarters in the sunny south east of Waterford, but we also have offices in counties Carlow, Tipperary, Dublin and Wexford. We have 17 core staff and a further 22 subcontracted staff working on various programmes. We run four national programmes: MEND, the domestic violence intervention programme; Engage, the national mental health training initiative; our male advice line, a national freephone service for male victims of domestic abuse; and the all-Ireland White Ribbon campaign, which is men ending violence against women. It is worth noting that in we are the only organisation which has dedicated programme to address victims and survivors of domestic abuse as well as perpetrators.

Over the initial years of the network, we ran a number of projects working with men who were at risk of or experienced marginalisation in the most marginalised communities. During this time, the network developed its own methodology of engaging men that has influenced the development of all its programmes and practices. These engagements with men also played a significant role in informing the first men’s health policy with a strong emphasis on a social determinants model of men’s health. Ireland was the first country in the world to have such a policy.

As an organisation, we have five core values that when, adhered to, create the conditions for individuals to thrive and grow and for societies to adapt and change for the betterment of all. These values of equality, being non-judgmental, partnership, professionalism and love underpin all our work and ensure that the principles of tolerance, respect and dignity are the cornerstones of our non-adversarial approach.

We see our work within a transformative framework that aims to create positive environments for reflection and analysis, leading eventually to action, whether this is as a society or as individuals. Our approach as an organisation is similar to the process happening here today where we are reflecting on the work of the citizens' assembly at the second stage of a process of transformation. That will eventually lead to a third stage where action will be taken in the form of agreed proposals for legislation or the holding of referendums.

Our work is about transforming masculinities by providing opportunities to engage men and boys on issues such as their health and well-being, gender equality and ending gender-based violence, not only in our national programmes mentioned earlier but also in programmes such as our parent support programme, walk the talk, FarmConnect, MenConnect, men's leadership, counselling services and our summer school, to name just a few.

Over the past 25 years we have worked hard to develop partnerships and collaborations with the women’s movement and acknowledge the leadership shown by women in creating the more equal society we have today. I hope as a men’s development organisation we are viewed as strong allies and supporters of the quest to end inequality and the elimination of violence against women. Although many strides have been taken to address inequality, there is much to be done.

The policy and legal frameworks are generally in place. The next step, we feel, is the transformation of hearts and minds. The rationale and evidence is now in place to positively engage men and boys in becoming catalysts and agents for change. This is only one piece of the puzzle, but a significant piece nonetheless, in creating the cultural shifts that engage the silent majority of men and boys in becoming their most authentic selves and standing together with women in the ongoing process of creating a society of equality, respect and non-violence. I hope this gives the committee a context for our contributions and reflections on the various recommendations today and that our mission statement, Better Lives for Men, Better Lives for All, is seen in the context of what I outlined earlier and that we are here today with an open mind, a tender heart and willingness to engage.

Before my colleague, Mr. Colm Kelly Ryan, takes over and continues our opening statement on the specific recommendations of domestic sexual and gender-based violence, I also wish to offer the committee, in light of the breadth of our engagement on all aspects of gender equality, our willingness to further engage with committee in the other seven areas of recommendations, especially those on the Constitution, care, leadership, norms and stereotypes.