I sent a note to ScreenNSW, below, followed by their (unsurprisingly disappointing) response, FYI:
I am writing with reference to the announcement that you are funding Clementine Ford's hateful new TV nightmare, 'Smile B**ch' – a “dark comedy about one woman executing her revenge against the men who have wronged her.” Just what we need to promote harmony between the sexes in 2024.
I strongly object to the use of tax-payers money for her latest male-bashing exercise.
I will follow up with a complaint to the eSafety Commission, which is required to tackle online hate relating to race, religion or gender – her male-hating activity should fall into their bailiwick.
We have seriously had enough of anti-male content. This woman is a serious threat to society and you are funding her craziness. Therefore YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for the hatred and danger to men and boys this may generate.
SNSW REPLY:
Screen NSW would like to acknowledge receipt of your email in which you raise concerns relating to funding under the Screen NSW Slate Development Program. Screen NSW recently announced funding under the Program for 32 projects being developed by 12 NSW production companies, including Aquarius Films responsible for developing two television projects Smile Bitch and The Servient and one feature film, Paradise.
All funding commitments and decisions are aligned with Screen NSW Program Guidelines.
Screen NSW supports a strong, independent screen sector and is committed to fostering a thriving and creative screen industry in NSW, supporting jobs and sharing local stories.
Please join me in protesting the funding by Screen NSW for Clementine Ford’s proposed film. I wrote a long letter to Screen NSW about how her behaviour violated their own ethics codes but received a dismissive response. It’s time to contact the NSW Minister for the Arts John.graham@parliament.nsw.gov.au and office@graham.minister.nsw.gov.au
This was the letter I wrote originally to Screen NSW which I will modify and shorten when writing to the minister.
Dear
I am writing to express my dismay at the announcement that Clementine Ford has received government funding via your organisation for her Project entitled "Smile Bitch".
She is a self proclaimed feminist who doesn't believe Israeli women were victims of sexual assault despite repeatedly advocating that we should believe all women. Her Facebook and instagram posts are increasingly hate filled, full of misinformation and are designed to incite violence towards the Jewish community. Clearly her support of women does not include Jewish women.
Please refer to her numerous and prolific stories on her instagram account which fail to acknowledge the atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct 7, the continued holding of hostages, the vilification of anyone who disagrees with her, including the doxing and mocking of Jewish women who ask her to stop inciting hatred. The use of the word Zionist when she actually means Jews is the definition of anti-semitism.
Today, she has posted a story on her Facebook page implying that Gaza can be compared to the Jewish ghettoes of the Holocaust before they were shipped to the gas chambers. Clearly, the genocide trope is at play here and is designed to spread hate and misinformation to her many followers.
In addition, she readily cites Hamas casualty numbers, knowing that Gaza is Hamas controlled and numbers are not verified, implying they are all civilians, but is somehow horrified that surrendered terrorists are stripped to their underwear in case they carry grenades. She expects proof from Israel for the rapes of (murdered) Israeli women even though the terrorists themselves proudly displayed videos of their murderous rampage but supposedly "believes all women".
She has been called out publicly numerous times for her posts, as follows:
-The Australian article authored by Antonella Gambotto Burke published this week which outlines the issues associated with Clementine Ford.
The volume of one sided and hate filled postings she has made over the last month are too numerous to attach here but I encourage you to study these stories to understand how much she has tried to incite her large number of followers who take everything she posts at face value, while they, and she stalk and attack those who try to bring some balance to her narrative.
I would also like to point out that as a Government funded body, the standard must be higher when agreeing to fund projects.
I refer to your own grant conditions Part A, section 1 attached stating that .."Screen NSW expects funding applicants and recipients to always conduct their business ethically, professionally and with integrity". Further along, there is a clause stating that fund recipients ..."respect other people's rights...moral rights...or the rights of people encompassing diverse cultural backgrounds.."
In this case, I urge you to consider if her behaviour meets the conditions set out in your own document.
Clementine Ford should not benefit from advocating for social discord, and she should not benefit from public funding while exhibiting this behaviour.
I respectfully request that the funding granted is re-examined and terminated in accordance with the ethical requirements of the grant.
Clementine Ford's schtick is easily discernible - bait people until they lose their **** and then use the opportunity to go off on them and humiliate them to the roars of applause from her grrl-army of followers. Unfortunately enough naive men have fallen into the trap and allowed her to build a profile by playing the victim.
Imagine someone going into the lost dogs' home and asking to see the animals. As soon as the keeper is out of sight she pulls out a stick and enrages the animals to the point they are snarling - then calls the keeper back and says: look these dogs are dangerous, they need putting down not adopting into family homes...
Honestly the only reason she is employed is because fellow travellers who are in charge of spending public money keep throwing her sinecure projects. Similar to her attack-buddy VB. I do feel sorry for her son and ex having read about their private lives (as they were inevitably shared for the world to see as part of CF's confessional activism), although he knew what he was getting into.
Precisely! And it is just as misplaced and out of step with the reality of Family Violence as it was in the UK and hence the recognition that it needed to be decommissioned.
Clementine Ford and her followers support the three scourges of a civilised society - Islamic Jihadists, extreme wokeism and toxic feminism. The first is responsible for many inconveniences (airport security checks etc.) and much pain, including the 7/10 monstrous inhumane torture, rapes, murders, decapitation and the kidnapping of infants through to the elderly. Extreme wokeism and toxic feminism are rapidly degrading work and educational standards. Fortunately, America seems to have awoken to the harm this triple scourge does to civil society. Like Australian universities, Ivy League universities have reached a point where misgendering someone is a sackable offence. Yet, a call for the genocide of the Jews is fine. Though the American universities are steadily being ‘forced’ to sack their Presidents (interestingly, almost all are women), the toxic culture remains embedded. There is a glimmer of hope as Americans are actively weeding out this scourge. How did this madness become institutionalised? Possibly, similar to many instances of insanity in history, the complacency of the populace allows repulsive doctrines to gain a foothold. The sickness of Ford, terrorist apologists, toxic gender activists, antisemitism and extreme wokeism have joined hands to bring evil to attack common sense and fundamental human rights.
I have reluctantly removed some of the comments from the discussion in the last few days, particularly those indulging in vicious anti-Zionist attacks. This post is not about Middle-Eastern politics but the vile activities of one feminist activist. If you want to indulge in slanging matches over political issues start your own Substack. If you persist, I will ban you. There's nothing wrong with making a comment or two on such issues, but I don't want anyone posting dozens of abusive remarks. I also removed a few of the responses to these comments, because the discussion no longer made sense in their absence. Sorry about that.
Hi Bettina. I admire much of your advocacy. Swimming against the shoal is never easy, and requires lots of guts, which you clearly have in abundance :-)
I also appreciate this post is not about Gaza, October 7th, the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, the ideology of Zionism or genocide. Your blog has a specific focus on gender politics and I respect that.
However, your post made factual assertions that DO relate to those topics. To be specific, you wrote "Like many prominent feminists across the world, Ford was utterly silent about the October 7 attacks by Hamas, despite plenty of evidence of rape.."
Back in January it may have been possible to assert that there was "plenty of evidence of rape" - but no longer. Evidence that sexual assault occurred during the October 7th attacks has not been substantiated. The New York Times has walked back its initial claims.
I've been praying for 'some slippage in the icy grip of feminism on Western society' for many years, being what might have been called one of the 'First Wave' feminists. Feminism, like most good things, lost the plot quite some time ago, devolving into a sickening, man-hating movement by-and-large. Count me out.
Erin Pizzey says the first wave was rife with manhating feminists from the very start. This nostalgia for first wave feminism is looking back through rose coloured glasses. Demands for equal pay for equal work were just but there was a strong stench of man hating and derision from the start.
Germaine Greer said women have no idea how much men hate them. This included husbands, sons, brothers and fathers. She was hailed as one of the leaders of the feminist movement. She, like others in the movement called marriage slavery and abuse of women and others said all sexual encounters between a man and a woman are rape and a form of patriarchal oppression. I believe Andrea Dworkin spewed this filth and was widely acclaimed for it.
I was part of that original movement in the early 70s...fringe-ly (if there's even such a word, which I doubt) and man-hating was NOT part of anything in which I was involved. My interest/involvement was for women to have the right and ability to CHOOSE what they wanted to do with their lives, not be forced into some role that may or may not be fulfilling for them and certainly not via the direction of men. I still feel the same. And am still opposed to any form of extremism. But then again, I've not had the experiences at the hands of some men that have some women. We all need to be mindful of the experiences of others. as for Ford...she leaves me speechless.
I'm glad women had the opportunity to choose what they want to do with their lives but this implies men had choices. Men were just as shackled by their traditional roles as the breadwinner and faced enormous societal pressure to provide for their wife and kids for 45 years in the workforce and often in dirty, dangerous, back breaking jobs.
I get so frustrated by this endless narrative that women back in the "dark ages" before the pill freed them from their biological shackles had to give up on their hopes and dreams to face a life of dreary monotony while their husbands lived a life of freedom and excitement out in the real world.
Two things. Many women loved being a mum and housewife. The second overlooked point is many men had dreams and passions they could never enjoy or achieve because they had to dig ditches or work as a roof tiler in 40 degree summer days.
We are always viewing every issue through the female lens and still do. Can men speak of their issues on any MSM platform? Nope. Not even in 2024.
Women were facing the same expectations in that they were the child bearers and homemakers. Now women have endless choices while men are still trapped in their traditional roles and expectations.
EVERYTHING you say here, i agree with - totally. One could hope that now men should also be 'freer' to follow what lights them up...and many do! And of course there are many, many women totally fulfilled with the traditional wife and mother roles. No disparagement from me. Sadly though, imho, too many of them without present fathers for their kids.
And yes, we DO need to 'listen' more to men...for sure...the suicide numbers speak to that. But men are NOT good at sharing themselves...hence those appalling numbers. My husband started a men's group following the Victorian bushfires over a decade ago, after one farmer decided a chainsaw to his neck was the way to stop his pain. They meet each week for a barbie, and, hopefully a chat and support. It took weeks and WEEKS for them to even tentatively start to open up. So much more work needs to be done here. And btw, that group is still going even though we are no longer living in the district.
As for the 'endless choices' for women these days.....I still note a dearth of garbage workers, etc.....
Yes, Susan. I think the reluctance of men, particularly men of the land to open up about their grief and pain is a tough ask but as Bettina has pointed out the vast majority of men who kill themselves have sought help in the previous 12 months.
Perhaps the fact that the counselling industry is overwhelmingly populated by women makes it even more difficult for some men.
The three leading causes of male suicide are all situational and not a result of mental illness or an inability to verbalize their pain. Men simply have nowhere to go for practical help as the government and legal system treats them with contempt. All the talking in the world won't give a man's children back to him nor his job or house.
False accusations don't disappear just because you cried about them with a counselor or friend.
Bless your husband for starting up a support group.
I understand the frustration he must feel when the men he is trying to support won't come to his group meetings but if a similar comment was made about women who are killing themselves it would immediately be branded "victim blaming" which is exactly what the media and even organizations like Beyond Blue or Movember do. They continually lay the blame at men's feet with their constant referencing men who won't cry or talk about their feelings.
If women were killing themselves because our courts tore their children from their lives and encouraged men to falsely accuse their wives in order to increase the likelihood of full custody we would not be berating women for not attending group sessions because the focus would be on the REASONS for their suicidal thoughts and inclinations rather than their emotional response to the issue.
And you can be assured something would be done about it!
I was an avid reader of the Age from my early teens. Through the latter part of the 20th century it was regarded as one of the best newspapers in the world. I recall reading Ms Arndt's writing regularly through the seventies and onward. I stopped reading the Age at least in part because of Ms Ford's writing. It wasn't so much about what Ford said but the newspaper's willingness to publish it. They have gone from one of the best to deep in the sewer.
Bettina, your efforts to expose the depth of Clementine Ford's depravity are much appreciated. Her words and feelings toward men are meaningless except to tell a story of her inner turmoil. Yet her rabble-rousing words of racial hatred are dangerous to the impressionable youth, such as the young girls who joined the monstrous savage ISIS rapists. Hamas enjoys the same support from Iran as the Houthi, Hizballah, Taliban, Al-Shabaab, Boko-Haram and many more Islamic terror organisations. Israel is surrounded by such organisations whose sole aim is to destroy countries that hold different moral viewpoints, such as Australia. I am in full support of silencing Clementine Ford's inhumane profanities before more lost youths sacrifice themselves through regrettable acts.
FYI there is a petition on Change.org requesting that the Minister for the Arts, John Graham, remove Clementine Ford from the line up at Sydney Opera House on International Women's Day. Please read and if that resonates, please add your signature. https://www.change.org/p/clementine-ford-iwd-event-at-sydney-opera-house-march-2024
I sent a note to ScreenNSW, below, followed by their (unsurprisingly disappointing) response, FYI:
I am writing with reference to the announcement that you are funding Clementine Ford's hateful new TV nightmare, 'Smile B**ch' – a “dark comedy about one woman executing her revenge against the men who have wronged her.” Just what we need to promote harmony between the sexes in 2024.
I strongly object to the use of tax-payers money for her latest male-bashing exercise.
I will follow up with a complaint to the eSafety Commission, which is required to tackle online hate relating to race, religion or gender – her male-hating activity should fall into their bailiwick.
We have seriously had enough of anti-male content. This woman is a serious threat to society and you are funding her craziness. Therefore YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for the hatred and danger to men and boys this may generate.
SNSW REPLY:
Screen NSW would like to acknowledge receipt of your email in which you raise concerns relating to funding under the Screen NSW Slate Development Program. Screen NSW recently announced funding under the Program for 32 projects being developed by 12 NSW production companies, including Aquarius Films responsible for developing two television projects Smile Bitch and The Servient and one feature film, Paradise.
All funding commitments and decisions are aligned with Screen NSW Program Guidelines.
Screen NSW supports a strong, independent screen sector and is committed to fostering a thriving and creative screen industry in NSW, supporting jobs and sharing local stories.
Thanks again for your correspondence.
Regards,
Screen NSW
Please join me in protesting the funding by Screen NSW for Clementine Ford’s proposed film. I wrote a long letter to Screen NSW about how her behaviour violated their own ethics codes but received a dismissive response. It’s time to contact the NSW Minister for the Arts John.graham@parliament.nsw.gov.au and office@graham.minister.nsw.gov.au
This was the letter I wrote originally to Screen NSW which I will modify and shorten when writing to the minister.
Dear
I am writing to express my dismay at the announcement that Clementine Ford has received government funding via your organisation for her Project entitled "Smile Bitch".
She is a self proclaimed feminist who doesn't believe Israeli women were victims of sexual assault despite repeatedly advocating that we should believe all women. Her Facebook and instagram posts are increasingly hate filled, full of misinformation and are designed to incite violence towards the Jewish community. Clearly her support of women does not include Jewish women.
Please refer to her numerous and prolific stories on her instagram account which fail to acknowledge the atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct 7, the continued holding of hostages, the vilification of anyone who disagrees with her, including the doxing and mocking of Jewish women who ask her to stop inciting hatred. The use of the word Zionist when she actually means Jews is the definition of anti-semitism.
Today, she has posted a story on her Facebook page implying that Gaza can be compared to the Jewish ghettoes of the Holocaust before they were shipped to the gas chambers. Clearly, the genocide trope is at play here and is designed to spread hate and misinformation to her many followers.
In addition, she readily cites Hamas casualty numbers, knowing that Gaza is Hamas controlled and numbers are not verified, implying they are all civilians, but is somehow horrified that surrendered terrorists are stripped to their underwear in case they carry grenades. She expects proof from Israel for the rapes of (murdered) Israeli women even though the terrorists themselves proudly displayed videos of their murderous rampage but supposedly "believes all women".
She has been called out publicly numerous times for her posts, as follows:
-The Australian article authored by Antonella Gambotto Burke published this week which outlines the issues associated with Clementine Ford.
-The Telegraph article, entitled '"Grossly irresponsible" influencers fuelling anti-Israel hate online"
-She was let go by @novapodcastsofficial last week as they decided they didn't want to be associated with her brand anymore. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12883271/Feminist-author-Clementine-Fords-podcast-AXED-Nova-amid-backlash-controversial-views-Israel-Gaza-conflict.html
The volume of one sided and hate filled postings she has made over the last month are too numerous to attach here but I encourage you to study these stories to understand how much she has tried to incite her large number of followers who take everything she posts at face value, while they, and she stalk and attack those who try to bring some balance to her narrative.
I would also like to point out that as a Government funded body, the standard must be higher when agreeing to fund projects.
I refer to your own grant conditions Part A, section 1 attached stating that .."Screen NSW expects funding applicants and recipients to always conduct their business ethically, professionally and with integrity". Further along, there is a clause stating that fund recipients ..."respect other people's rights...moral rights...or the rights of people encompassing diverse cultural backgrounds.."
In this case, I urge you to consider if her behaviour meets the conditions set out in your own document.
Clementine Ford should not benefit from advocating for social discord, and she should not benefit from public funding while exhibiting this behaviour.
I respectfully request that the funding granted is re-examined and terminated in accordance with the ethical requirements of the grant.
Yours faithfully
Next will try sending to Office@graham.minister.nsw.gov.au
Excellent points.. I will respond with those. I also emailed the following contacts if you want to try: kahlee.rose@create.nsw.gov.au, screeninvestment@create.nsw.gov.au
I will do and will respond with Jamie’s comments
Clementine Ford's schtick is easily discernible - bait people until they lose their **** and then use the opportunity to go off on them and humiliate them to the roars of applause from her grrl-army of followers. Unfortunately enough naive men have fallen into the trap and allowed her to build a profile by playing the victim.
Imagine someone going into the lost dogs' home and asking to see the animals. As soon as the keeper is out of sight she pulls out a stick and enrages the animals to the point they are snarling - then calls the keeper back and says: look these dogs are dangerous, they need putting down not adopting into family homes...
Honestly the only reason she is employed is because fellow travellers who are in charge of spending public money keep throwing her sinecure projects. Similar to her attack-buddy VB. I do feel sorry for her son and ex having read about their private lives (as they were inevitably shared for the world to see as part of CF's confessional activism), although he knew what he was getting into.
Precisely! And it is just as misplaced and out of step with the reality of Family Violence as it was in the UK and hence the recognition that it needed to be decommissioned.
For Ford’s information, the Jews weren’t colonizers, they were “colonized” by a decision of the League of Nations - the pre-runner of the UN.
Clementine Ford and her followers support the three scourges of a civilised society - Islamic Jihadists, extreme wokeism and toxic feminism. The first is responsible for many inconveniences (airport security checks etc.) and much pain, including the 7/10 monstrous inhumane torture, rapes, murders, decapitation and the kidnapping of infants through to the elderly. Extreme wokeism and toxic feminism are rapidly degrading work and educational standards. Fortunately, America seems to have awoken to the harm this triple scourge does to civil society. Like Australian universities, Ivy League universities have reached a point where misgendering someone is a sackable offence. Yet, a call for the genocide of the Jews is fine. Though the American universities are steadily being ‘forced’ to sack their Presidents (interestingly, almost all are women), the toxic culture remains embedded. There is a glimmer of hope as Americans are actively weeding out this scourge. How did this madness become institutionalised? Possibly, similar to many instances of insanity in history, the complacency of the populace allows repulsive doctrines to gain a foothold. The sickness of Ford, terrorist apologists, toxic gender activists, antisemitism and extreme wokeism have joined hands to bring evil to attack common sense and fundamental human rights.
I have reluctantly removed some of the comments from the discussion in the last few days, particularly those indulging in vicious anti-Zionist attacks. This post is not about Middle-Eastern politics but the vile activities of one feminist activist. If you want to indulge in slanging matches over political issues start your own Substack. If you persist, I will ban you. There's nothing wrong with making a comment or two on such issues, but I don't want anyone posting dozens of abusive remarks. I also removed a few of the responses to these comments, because the discussion no longer made sense in their absence. Sorry about that.
Hi Bettina. I admire much of your advocacy. Swimming against the shoal is never easy, and requires lots of guts, which you clearly have in abundance :-)
I also appreciate this post is not about Gaza, October 7th, the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, the ideology of Zionism or genocide. Your blog has a specific focus on gender politics and I respect that.
However, your post made factual assertions that DO relate to those topics. To be specific, you wrote "Like many prominent feminists across the world, Ford was utterly silent about the October 7 attacks by Hamas, despite plenty of evidence of rape.."
Back in January it may have been possible to assert that there was "plenty of evidence of rape" - but no longer. Evidence that sexual assault occurred during the October 7th attacks has not been substantiated. The New York Times has walked back its initial claims.
https://www.newarab.com/news/new-york-times-rows-back-claims-7-oct-sexual-assault
You of all Australians are surely sensitive to the possibility of false and malicious claims about sexual assault?
Yes, this may be off-topic - but the truth about rape does matter. If it didn't, no-one would ever lie about it.
Thankyou.
I wrote about this depraved woman a few years ago, for what it's worth.
https://avoiceformen.com/featured/delving-into-the-depths-of-depravity/
Interesting, thank you. One anagram of 'Clementine Ford' is 'demonic elf rent'. Sounds fair.
Thanks. I appreciate your comment.
I've been praying for 'some slippage in the icy grip of feminism on Western society' for many years, being what might have been called one of the 'First Wave' feminists. Feminism, like most good things, lost the plot quite some time ago, devolving into a sickening, man-hating movement by-and-large. Count me out.
HI Sue, I think you have very rosy view of the history of feminism.
Erin Pizzey says the first wave was rife with manhating feminists from the very start. This nostalgia for first wave feminism is looking back through rose coloured glasses. Demands for equal pay for equal work were just but there was a strong stench of man hating and derision from the start.
Germaine Greer said women have no idea how much men hate them. This included husbands, sons, brothers and fathers. She was hailed as one of the leaders of the feminist movement. She, like others in the movement called marriage slavery and abuse of women and others said all sexual encounters between a man and a woman are rape and a form of patriarchal oppression. I believe Andrea Dworkin spewed this filth and was widely acclaimed for it.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/andrea-dworkins-intercourse-raw-radical-194628357.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADzYbJrIlC8qM2W9BOIk1TOV5hmurc6UfVuphnun2T1g
I was part of that original movement in the early 70s...fringe-ly (if there's even such a word, which I doubt) and man-hating was NOT part of anything in which I was involved. My interest/involvement was for women to have the right and ability to CHOOSE what they wanted to do with their lives, not be forced into some role that may or may not be fulfilling for them and certainly not via the direction of men. I still feel the same. And am still opposed to any form of extremism. But then again, I've not had the experiences at the hands of some men that have some women. We all need to be mindful of the experiences of others. as for Ford...she leaves me speechless.
I'm glad women had the opportunity to choose what they want to do with their lives but this implies men had choices. Men were just as shackled by their traditional roles as the breadwinner and faced enormous societal pressure to provide for their wife and kids for 45 years in the workforce and often in dirty, dangerous, back breaking jobs.
I get so frustrated by this endless narrative that women back in the "dark ages" before the pill freed them from their biological shackles had to give up on their hopes and dreams to face a life of dreary monotony while their husbands lived a life of freedom and excitement out in the real world.
Two things. Many women loved being a mum and housewife. The second overlooked point is many men had dreams and passions they could never enjoy or achieve because they had to dig ditches or work as a roof tiler in 40 degree summer days.
We are always viewing every issue through the female lens and still do. Can men speak of their issues on any MSM platform? Nope. Not even in 2024.
Women were facing the same expectations in that they were the child bearers and homemakers. Now women have endless choices while men are still trapped in their traditional roles and expectations.
EVERYTHING you say here, i agree with - totally. One could hope that now men should also be 'freer' to follow what lights them up...and many do! And of course there are many, many women totally fulfilled with the traditional wife and mother roles. No disparagement from me. Sadly though, imho, too many of them without present fathers for their kids.
And yes, we DO need to 'listen' more to men...for sure...the suicide numbers speak to that. But men are NOT good at sharing themselves...hence those appalling numbers. My husband started a men's group following the Victorian bushfires over a decade ago, after one farmer decided a chainsaw to his neck was the way to stop his pain. They meet each week for a barbie, and, hopefully a chat and support. It took weeks and WEEKS for them to even tentatively start to open up. So much more work needs to be done here. And btw, that group is still going even though we are no longer living in the district.
As for the 'endless choices' for women these days.....I still note a dearth of garbage workers, etc.....
Yes, Susan. I think the reluctance of men, particularly men of the land to open up about their grief and pain is a tough ask but as Bettina has pointed out the vast majority of men who kill themselves have sought help in the previous 12 months.
Perhaps the fact that the counselling industry is overwhelmingly populated by women makes it even more difficult for some men.
The three leading causes of male suicide are all situational and not a result of mental illness or an inability to verbalize their pain. Men simply have nowhere to go for practical help as the government and legal system treats them with contempt. All the talking in the world won't give a man's children back to him nor his job or house.
False accusations don't disappear just because you cried about them with a counselor or friend.
Bless your husband for starting up a support group.
I understand the frustration he must feel when the men he is trying to support won't come to his group meetings but if a similar comment was made about women who are killing themselves it would immediately be branded "victim blaming" which is exactly what the media and even organizations like Beyond Blue or Movember do. They continually lay the blame at men's feet with their constant referencing men who won't cry or talk about their feelings.
If women were killing themselves because our courts tore their children from their lives and encouraged men to falsely accuse their wives in order to increase the likelihood of full custody we would not be berating women for not attending group sessions because the focus would be on the REASONS for their suicidal thoughts and inclinations rather than their emotional response to the issue.
And you can be assured something would be done about it!
Thanks again for your thoughtful response.
Worth a laugh. Someone must love this person.
What person?
I was an avid reader of the Age from my early teens. Through the latter part of the 20th century it was regarded as one of the best newspapers in the world. I recall reading Ms Arndt's writing regularly through the seventies and onward. I stopped reading the Age at least in part because of Ms Ford's writing. It wasn't so much about what Ford said but the newspaper's willingness to publish it. They have gone from one of the best to deep in the sewer.
Bettina, your efforts to expose the depth of Clementine Ford's depravity are much appreciated. Her words and feelings toward men are meaningless except to tell a story of her inner turmoil. Yet her rabble-rousing words of racial hatred are dangerous to the impressionable youth, such as the young girls who joined the monstrous savage ISIS rapists. Hamas enjoys the same support from Iran as the Houthi, Hizballah, Taliban, Al-Shabaab, Boko-Haram and many more Islamic terror organisations. Israel is surrounded by such organisations whose sole aim is to destroy countries that hold different moral viewpoints, such as Australia. I am in full support of silencing Clementine Ford's inhumane profanities before more lost youths sacrifice themselves through regrettable acts.