Submission to the 'Men and Father's Health Summit' into Men's Health by Paul Whyte Secretary Sydney Men's Network

Men's Health is a new and rapidly developing area. As yet health services have only begun to consider the social determinants that lead to much higher risk factors for most leading causes of stress, illness and death for men than other social groups. In this submission there will not be an attempt to focus on health but will focus instead on the social forces that lead to men's life struggles. It is clear from many years listening to men's lives as part of the work of the Sydney Men's Network that the major social institutions poor policy leads to major life issues that lead over a life time towards the leading causes for disease and death in men.

To give an over view of the social forces on men, the major institutions in Australia today needed to be examined in detail and men's stories about what happens to men in those institutions needs to be listened to. While much more detail is needed to be able to "see" and take measures against the bad effects of institutions on men, understanding the overall nature of the issue is important and needs to be mentioned as a key area of men's health work.

Reference is made to more detailed discussion of the issues is found on the Sydney Men's Network web site at http://www.mensnetwork.com.au. Particularly in the articles "An Introduction to Men's Liberation" and "A Draft Policy for Men's Liberation" that discusses in depth the intuitional effects on men's live and measure that may be taken to improve men's lives.

The shape of the effect on men is worth mentioning. The effect of the institutions on men is over the whole of a life time. Men are set up to be "work objects" or maintained as "work objects". There is of course a very great deal of detail beyond this simple over view. It is understood that these large institutions also target many other groups for mistreatment in many different ways.

The institution of the family, schools, religions are where the basic setup of what it is to be male is begun. Fathers tend to get forced out of the family into work as conditions become more difficult. While fathers have to provide support to the family, most support for fathers, needs to be from outside the family due to the issue of the dependency of the other family members on the dad. As yet the dad is often the last family member to be supported in an organised way. Supporting dads is an effective way to support families.

The military institution defends Australia's place in the world economy and border territorial security. It is men who make up the main group who's lives are lost in war. I do understand that the general population of the target country looses the most lives in modern warfare however modern warfare occurs almost exclusively in third world countries, with western world military men's lives lost in these wars. Much more is needed to bring veterans back to good health and well-being after serving their country. It is especially disgraceful for a society to treat it's military as "disposable":.

The work place is where the basic social production occurs and men are raised to play the key life long role at work for the society. Almost all men's issues lead in someway to work. Even though historically the "International Working Men's Association formed in 1864, played a key role in the development of the left and trade unions, men's issues are still not a central focus of the left or unions. The work- life balance issue is a key issue for men in the work place.

The police, courts and prisons enforce the values and rules that society runs by. Men are the group who are mostly both in and the target of these institutions yet men's rehabilitation work gets only a marginal focus.

The institutions that are setup to allow men to keep going in the face of stress and other "life reducing factors" are the Sports, drugs legal and illegal and sex industries. While these institutions capture the main focus of attention of men, the energy and will to face and work through issues that lead to resolution of real issues remain diffuse. At best this primary men's focus just gives a little relief and exercise. The exercise from sport may well be sound and essential to health. The work that a man may do to resolve his life challenges and get real relief remains out of public focus. This ability to work through life challenges is the work of the Sydney Men's Network and other similar men's groups. The men that engage in this work towards real resolution of life issues make slow but steady progress. Those who work with men in men's groups are hopeful of men's ability to make real life changes for the better when those "life changing" resources are made available to them.

An initial men's health issue is raising the issues that effect men to public attention. Due to the wide spread nature of the large number of issues with poor Government policy towards men covering many areas of Ministerial responsibility an 'Office for Men and Fathers' is recommended so that government attention can be paid in an organised and coherent way to the issues that effect men and men's health.