Thirty-seven years ago, two male therapists in Atlanta asked Kathleen Carlin, the director of a shelter, how they could support battered women, said Men Stopping Violence Director of Training Lee Giordano.
Carlin told them “the best thing you can do is talk to the men who are being abusive and stop their abuse.”
“We (MSV) started out specifically with an intervention focus but over the years that focus has continued to highlight intervention, but also to incorporate more prevention elements,” he said. “One of the unique things, one of the things that sorta sets us up on a national stage is how we do intervention with the specific prevention focus.”
The goal of Men Stopping Violence is about ending violence against women and girls.
The global pandemic threw a curveball. The freedom, connections and joys taken for granted came to a halt. COVID-19 stripped away many of the ways men seek stress relief.
“It is no surprise that domestic violence and child abuse have increased so dramatically,” the director of training said.
Sharp turns were taken across the globe as news circulated and evolved.
“A lot of us on staff had a sense that if people were sheltering in place that it sounded like a very dangerous place for women experiencing abuse … feeling women’s jeopardy was increasing,” said Giordano. “The on-line conversations grew out of what was the immediate need and how can we fill that?
“In direct response to the coronavirus ‘The Huddle’ was created to reach beyond the typical man who would find getting together with other men appealing,” he said.
Carving out two weekly, one-hour online ZOOM discussion groups (nationwide) was the result, allowing a space where men could safely and freely connect with other men. The conversations are directed by trained professionals and topics shift. It’s a bridge that links ideas and positive action.
Each discussion features a participant, a leader in their community that helps bring men to the conversation.
“Our hope of something like ‘The Huddle’ is that someone that hasn’t been abusive, but feels the stress building, will participate and this could be a way of preventing any abuse of happening in the first place. It’s a place for temporary relief and education,” Giordano said.
The topic of self care is often revisited. Helping men to get traction on healthy habits: Exercising, eating better, talking about their needs.
“A couple of weeks ago we centered on resilience. It was a powerful conversation in figuring out how to stay connected. There is a lot of strength in how we are surviving,” he said.
For more information, visit https://menstoppingviolence.org (404-270-9894)
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