In light of 8 March 2021 being International Women’s Day, founder of ‘The Fathering Project’ and WA Australian of the Year 2013, Dr Bruce Robinson is calling on all fathers and father-figures to play a leading role in educating their sons about respect for all women.
Dr Robinson strongly encourages fathers to be role models and to embed unambiguous and uncompromising values of respect for women and reinforces the critical role a father plays.
“Education and discussion about the subject of respect must start when boys are still young,” says Dr Robinson.
“They have to become part of the fabric of a father’s conversation with his son(s), in tandem with sex education and consent as they get older, while a dad’s actions at home must set a lead-by-example message to respect all women.”
Dr Robinson says that International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to “recognise how important their role is in turning the tide on respect for women here in Australia”, challenging fathers to adopt the three important values:
- Be a role model.
- Be explicit about respect.
- Teach empathy.
“Fathers must also take the time to talk to their daughters with great respect, to show them they are valued and worthy of being respected and treated well by another man as they grow older,” he adds.
“The foundations for the respect that a [woman] expects from a man are established early on from her father. When the father treats his daughter with respect, the daughter will never tolerate disrespect from another man,’’ says Dr Bruce Robinson.
He affirms that “empathy and values going hand in hand”.
“Values start in the head, but empathy comes from the heart – it’s a feeling. Those two things, head and heart, are a powerful combination, which can embed in young men life-long respect for women,” he says.
‘The Fathering Project’s’ key mission is to urge fathers and father-figures, to raise boys into men who have the deepest ongoing respect for all women. This will change the future for both women and men.
On International Women’s Day 2021, ‘The Fathering Project’ celebrates women across the globe and calls loudly on Fathers to be part of the solution to change the future so that all men grow up to treat women respectfully.
To learn more about ‘The Fathering Project’, visit: thefatheringproject.org/
