18/05/2026
. And yet, all men have a role to play.
This weekend I ran a discussion group at Everyman Yarra Valley. In a room with my brothers. No script, no performance... just honesty.
And what came up wasn't defensiveness. It was curiosity. Men genuinely asking what it means to be complicit, even without realising it. Men wanting to know how to speak up when they see harm happening. Men asking how to approach other men, the ones causing harm, not with anger, but with enough care to actually get through to them.
We talked about the men who hurt women. Not as strangers or monsters. But as our fathers, our mates, our coaches, our role models. Men shaped by the same systems and silences that shaped all of us.
Violence against women is not a women's issue. It never was. And the men in that room got that.
What moved me most wasn't the discomfort, though it was real. It was the willingness. Men wanting to step into accountability without being shamed into it. That doesn't happen by accident. That happens when you create a space where it's safe enough to actually go there.
We need connection before compliance. Safety before accountability. And we need more men willing to sit in the discomfort long enough to actually understand and help each other.
After the session I went to make a coffee. Grabbed a mug. Looked down at it.
I mean... coincidence? I don't think so.
The universe was paying attention.
If this resonates, share it. If you're doing this work or want to, reach out. We want to hear from you.