Tyneside theatre company launch #AllMenCan in the fight to end violence against women and girls
Workie Ticket Theatre Company - who recently celebrated their 5th birthday - are reaching out to involve young men and boys in the conversations
A North East theatre company are launching a new project - involving young men and boys in the conversations around ending violence against women and girls
The Female led - Workie Ticket - are sharing their All Men Can project, in the hopes of supporting men and boys being included in the discussions around ending VAWG, without pointing fingers or lecturing, but teaching how their actions can affect women and girls.
The project has been supported by donations from the North of Tyne Combined Authority and Northumbria Police's Operation Payback, allowing the Workie Ticket team to expand on their Womxn Up project with #AllMenCan - a series of podcasts, surveys and an audio response play, as well as workshops which will be shared with Northumbria Police and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.
The workshop subjects will aim to cover discussions around:
â—Ź Exploring what misogyny is and where it stems from.
â—Ź Everyday sexism to Femicide: how they connect.
â—Ź Highlighting the Rape Culture Pyramid.
â—Ź Harmful gender stereotypes
â—Ź Domestic Abuse
● Why it’s important to speak out against VAWG
â—Ź Toxic Masculinity
Workie Ticket Artistic Director, and All Men Can project co-ordinator Jojo Kirtley, who is a survivor of domestic abuse, tells us it has been a big change for the team, who have previously won awards for their work in telling the stories of women:
"A lot of the work we do is working with survivors, the women who work for Workie Ticket, including myself, are survivors of abuse,
"So to actually confront different men in that way - and boys - and have those conversations, it was a very different project than we're used to."
She tells us where the idea for All Men Can came from, in the wake of the Womxn Up project;
"We're all feminists, it's a feminist organisation - we're female led but we really need to start talking to boys more and asking them, and engaging them in this conversation.
"We really wanted to tell different women's stories because they're often forgotten especially in archives, even in the North East as well.
"But what we realised is that... a lot of stuff around Sarah Everard was coming out, and we realised we kind of need to start talking to boys."
"It's all around looking at how we engage men and boys,
"So we've sent out a survey for men to answer, we have been doing workshops in the community, online ones - we delivered a workshop to Northumbria Police, we're going to deliver a workshop to Tyne and Wear fire service in Tynemouth."
Jojo also explains it is vital young men and boys see it as a safe space, to engage in discussion;
"I just felt we needed to have conversation rather than lecturing with young boys, because incels are real - and they are targeting our young people.
"Influencers are out there trying to create something negative and we wanted to create something positive where we could create those conversations."
Jojo will be attending the workshops, sharing her personal experiences and the impact that domestic abuse has.
Workie Ticket say they want the project to allow men to ask open questions, receive advice and support, and signpost resources and organisations for further help, as well as encouraging men to take the 'White Ribbon Promise' to take action and make a difference.
The team are fundraising to be able to share their work - and a performance of the play "I Walk The Line" further with the North East communities.
You can find our more about the #AllMenCan project and #WomxnUp via the Workie Ticket website, and social media.