Movember rips off men's health dollars

In recent months I have been delighted to discover that across the world someone else is tearing their hair out over exactly the same issues. Listen to this:

"Nobody cares about men", is something I hear all the time. And understandably so; it's hard to look around, at the neglect, and the dwindling funding, and not feel this way.

But I want you to know, people do care; for years people have run thousands of miles, paddled across oceans, climbed mountains, and put their bodies through immense suffering, to raise money for men's health and male suicide.

The issue is that this enormous pile of money, courageously raised, is so rarely spent on men, and instead stays in the bank vaults and back pockets of large charities.

Meanwhile, so many smaller, wonderful charities for men are going under, closing shop and sinking into bankruptcy, because they get nothing.

They are buried beneath the SEO-savvy, glossy behemoths; whose million pound marketing departments squash out competition, hoover up donations, and colonise the market.

It's not right.

This impassioned cry is from George, the UK based digital creator who posts under TheTinMen. I mentioned his work in my last blog, when I showed his excellent post on the misrepresentation of women as the only victims of online abuse.

George has been posting recently about Movember - asking questions about where the money is going (According to his calculations Movember seem to be sitting on huge sums of reserves – GBP54 million in the UK.)

But he has also been asking why Movember avoids getting involved in controversial issues, like family law and suicide and male victims of abuse. So many of the key issues that actually trigger men to take their lives.

Issues we talked about in our long, fascinating video conversation we recorded this week, in which we compared notes about the frustrations of trying to expose the injustices men are suffering, in a world which doesn't care. Please promote the video and showcase George's excellent work to a new audience.

I hope you will also share my blog and get the word out about how Movember is going off the rails. We have to persuade people to direct their generosity elsewhere.

When it comes to donating, George is urging everyone to think local – do your homework and find out which men's services in your area are genuinely tackling real issues faced by men. Local Parents Beyond Breakup or Men's Shed groups should point you in the right direction. Donate to services which actually relieve male suffering.