Sex Discrimination - affects men too?

When you mention sex discrimination most people automatically assume you are talking about issues affecting women without ever considering that men also suffer from the impact of discrimination.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has appointed a new Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination, Elizabeth Broderick. (More information is available at www.humanrights.gov.au.

At present they are conducting community consultations to develop a plan to address sex discrimination in Australia. It is important that the new commissioner acknowledges the many ways that men are discriminated against and actively develops resources and strategies to address the issues.

Here is a summary of some of the key ways men are disadvantaged in Australia.

Males have much higher illness, injury, accident and death rates and die 5 years earlier than females, yet research funding for male health is less than one-third of that for female health

* Males suicide at almost four times the rate of females. More males kill themselves each year than the entire Australian road toll

* More than twice as many males as females experience work-related injuries and illnesses, and over ninety percent of work-related deaths are males

* Young men are three times as likely as young women to be victims of violence, however, there are no public health campaigns to address this very serious issue

* Men are also victims of intimate partner abuse, however, there are no support services for these men, nor treatment services for abusive women

* Boys in Australia are much more likely to drop out of school than girls. In NSW, the difference between boys' and girls' average Tertiary Entrance Rank is almost 20%. Males currently make up just 37% of university graduates

* In Australia today, only women have reproductive rights. Upon becoming pregnant, a woman can choose to have the baby, or have an abortion, or put the baby up for adoption. A man has no choice whether to become a father or even to be notified that he has become a father

* Men are more likely to be convicted and receive longer sentences for the same crimes, compared to their female counterparts (94% of the prison population is male)

* Following family court proceedings, children are far more likely to be given little or no time with their father than they are with their mother

* The current inequitable parental leave schemes, favouring mothers, reinforce fathers in the traditional 'breadwinner' role rather than supporting them as being 'hands-on' dads (which all the research shows gives better outcomes for children and their parents)

* Australian women are responsible for spending 90 cents in every household dollar

More information about how to contribute to the Listening Tour will be posted at www.humanrights.gov.au in coming weeks, along with details of other events as the HREOC team make their way around the country.

Can't make it to the consultation? An interactive website is currently being constructed which will allow online contributions.