News / Gender equality talk screening
A SCREENING of a talk given in Shetland last year by a renowned author and educator about gender equality will be held in Mareel this weekend.
Dr Michael Kaufman took his Raising Our Sons to be Good Men talk to the isles to discuss the role men and boys can play to help promote gender equality.
The Canadian was brought to Shetland by the local Women’s Aid branch and staff are showing a recording of the event at Mareel in Lerwick on Sunday afternoon.
Support worker Karen MacKelvie said it was a coup to have Kaufman, a former lecturer at Toronto University, visit Shetland.
The academic has worked with the United Nations, as well as governments and NGOs across the globe. He’s also collaborated with corporations, trade unions and universities and colleges.
“I really want to show the talk again, so people who couldn’t attend the event can see it,” MacKelvie said.
“We were the envy of all charities around the country who work in this area when we got him up.”
MacKelvie said Kaufman’s talk appealed to both men and women, with active fatherhood a big topic of the work.
The event is being held in support of White Ribbon Day, which takes place globally each year on 25 November to put a stop to male violence against women and girls.
An animation by local graphic designer Daniel Gear will also be premiered at the event on Sunday in an effort to raise awareness among young people about domestic abuse in Shetland.
The clip, entitled There’s A Wolf In My Home, was developed after Shetland Women’s Aid received funding for the production of a video.
“It was the most challenging brief I’ve ever been involved with – how can you raise awareness, resonate with, or maybe even encourage kids, some of whom might actually find themselves in these awful situations,” Gear said.
Aberdeen based Gear, who worked through three different concepts before deciding on the wolf theme, enlisted his sister Amy to voice the main character.
The screening of the talk and the animation comes at a time when the local Women’s Aid service continues to be extremely busy.
While they help locals with a range of issues, the greatest demand for support is in domestic abuse cases.
“We’re just constantly full to the brim with work, all the time,” MacKelvie said, adding that there is now a waiting list due to demand.
“There’s more children and young people coming forward because it’s being talked about more and there is a bit less stigma.”
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