Title of Advocacy Campaign:

Count Men in

Group Members

1. Divine Dea Caddo

2. Femalyn Billao Ah-ul
3. Isabelle Sapanlay
4. Judith Soliven
5. Marieta Eddiva

Date Submitted: 10/27/22

BACKGROUND

For generations, men have been labeled as strong and mighty. Often, phrases
like “Man up!” or “Men shouldn’t cry!” have been tossed around, leaving men scared to
talk about their emotions. The most depriving part is that these social expectations
cause men to keep quiet about serious issues such as the sexual harassment and
abuse they’ve been through.

Men and women were created in the same image to enjoy equal participation in
all opportunities, rights, and also protection. But for eons, it has been thought that
women are naive and that men are the mighty ones and stereotypes like these have
been instilled in the minds of children. Patriarchy is not only the root cause of problems
faced by women but has also created many setbacks for men. It forces men to be in
predetermined notions; where they have to live up to the toxic masculinity and behave
in a certain way. Because the culture of masculinity is so strong, men who are sexually
harassed at the workplace face additional challenges because of the stereotypes while
some others do not even realize when they have been sexually abused. Stigma and
gender norms surely affect how men report sexual harassment, and also act as a
barrier to report the crime. As a result, men are reluctant to report the crime or come
forward because of the social norms that say sexual harassment is not a male issue.
Men are also reluctant to complain due to the misuse of sexual harassment laws by
women and the filing of false complaints.

Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which is our Fundamental Right, specifies

the right to equality. But the legislation has a greater focus on the issues that are faced
by women. The government has made effective laws for preventing sexual harassment
at the workplace for women but there has also been a slow rise in the cases of sexual
harassment against men. The majority of the laws in India negate the fact that men can
also be victims to sexual harassment. Sections 354, 354B, 354C, 354D of the Indian
Penal Code,1860 deal with sexual harassment, stalking, etc. but all these sections are
primarily concerned with women. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace
(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 only refers to “women” and it
specifies certain remedies and provisions for women who have been harassed. This act
recognizes sexual harassment as a violation of the fundamental rights only of a woman
and their right to life and dignity and to carry on their profession in an environment free
of sexual harassment.

However, sexual harassment has nothing to do with gender, it is about the

person who is in power. In the current situations where women are also in powerful
positions at the workplace, there is no reason why a woman in power cannot be abusive
and vituperative. While there is vast majority of sexual harassment cases that are filed
by women, yet there are a number of cases involving female on male workplace sexual
harassment and male-on-male workplace sexual harassment claims have also been
becoming more common. These include instances of refusing sexual advances,
unwelcome touching, and being subjected to offensive sexual comments and jokes.
With this, Count Men In strives to let the hidden, scared voices of men to be heard.

VISION AND GOALS

Count Men In aims to serve as a global voice for oppressed men in today’s
society who are scared to speak for themselves in a world of toxic masculinity and male
stereotypes. Helping survivors to feel safe and supported will encourage more people to
come forward and identify the perpetrators of sexual violence.

Economic, social and political expectations of men should not box them in
uniformity, nor steal them the right to talk about their abuse. Moving forward, the
campaign seeks to educate people of all genders of the struggle men go through
brought by generations of patriarchy. We want people to know that men feel unsafe
walking at night too.

TARGET BENEFICIARIES

We strive to protect men and let their voice be heard. Though our campaign is
centralized on male sexual harassment and how they have every right to talk about their
abuse and feelings, but the youth, millennials, and the elderly, regardless of their
gender, are all target beneficiaries.

We know that one kid, one woman, one elderly, one man or one woman can
make a big difference if they were aware about these issues. It would benefit their
peace of mind, and men’s safety.

RESPONSE

Men’s experience of sexual harassment is often taboo, given society’s standards

and expectations of men to be “tough,” especially during the olden times. BBC held a
survey in 2017 regarding male sexual harassment in a workplace, where 79% of men
chose to keep quiet about their experience.

As a response, we plan to spread our campaign locally and globally. We will use
free methods to promote Count Men In such as popular social media platforms like
YouTube and Facebook. We will also give free psychiatric evaluations to men who
suffered from sexual harassment, as well as free counselling to abused men. Funding
will be from the government’s allotted budget for free healthcare. We will then test for
significant changes in surveys after our campaigning. Even if we don’t make a huge
difference, we will continue our advocacy, that even a few men may feel safer and
understood.

CAMPAIGN SUPPORTERS

Count Men In has teamed up with other organizations supporting men’s rights.
Men’s Resource Center for Change, MVP Strategies, and MenEngage are working
hand in hand with our campaign to protect and show care for men’s rights—human
rights. As our advocacies have a centralized goal of protecting men’s prerogatives.

The national government, local Filipinos involved in our campaign, and even
individuals all around the globe are also both privately and publicly supporting our
campaign. Some of our notable ambassadors include Warren Farrell, Herb Goldberg,
Richard Doyle and Asa Baber who strive for gender equality.

RESOURCES AND ASSESTS

It has been decided that the following resources are required to support the topic
of our program, which is to raise awareness about why everyone needs to know more
about sexual harassment, regardless of their gender, religion, status in life, ethnicity,
and other factors.

The program will need certain resources, including social workers who will
educate people about men’s sexual harassment and psychologists who will provide
counseling with an emphasis on supporting personal and social functioning throughout
the lifespan. We won't need to spend much on expenses because the government
provides Psychologists and Social workers. In the Philippines, there are hospitals that
provide free therapy, such as the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), which provides
free psychiatric consultation and counseling services carried out through personal
check-ups. We also have social workers who will provide orientation. We distribute fliers
to every school, barangay, mall, office, and other location for contact purposes.
REFERENCES

McDonald, H. (2019). An Introduction to Men’s Rights Activists. Security Distillery.

Retrieved From: https://thesecuritydistillery.org/all-articles/an-introduction-to-
mens-rights-activists-mras

RAINN. Sexual Assault of Men and Boys. Retrieved From:

https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault-men-and-boys

Chitlangia, S. (2021). Sexual harassment of men at workplace: need for a legal

framework. Pleaders. Retrieved From: https://blog.ipleaders.in/sexual-
harassment-of-men-at-workplace-need-for-a-legal-framework/?amp=1

The Bystander Moment. Organizations & Groups working for Gender Equity and
the Prevention of Men’s Violence against Women. Retrieved From:
http://bystandermoment.org/orgs-and-groups.html

Inspired eLearning. (2021). 16 Alarming Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Statistics You Need to Know. https://inspiredelearning.com/blog/sexual-
harassment-in-the-workplace-statistics/