12/05/2026
I was a little distracted as we entered the last 8 weeks of marathon training, but I wanted to show my gratitude for some recent recognition I received. Being listed as 1 of 100 Men and Boys Champions in the United Kingdom is a huge honour, especially given some of the high profile names I’m alongside. Gareth Southgate, Lawrence Dallaglio and Stephen Graham of course stand out, but I’m equally as honoured to be amongst incredible people such as Alex Blower, Mike Nicholson, Rick Pomfret, Sonia Shaljean, and Sophie King-Hill to name just a few.
Fighting for men and boys is a lonely battle. Many organisations who call themselves “inclusive” are quite the opposite. Many don’t even see how they isolate men and boys. I’m here to highlight gaps and hold them accountable when needed. My experience of working in over 50 schools is that boys are too often labelled or even forgotten. That’s why I’ve developed the Build Back Boys program. To make boys masters of their own destiny without feeling they have to put themselves second every time. Boys deserve equality and a voice. I believe in getting the very best out of boys and men.
43% of Domestic Abuse victims in Luton are male and many of you will only have ever heard that statistic from me.
When men and boys are harmed in this way, the government counts this as “Violence Against Women and Girls”. This is what inclusion and equality looks like for us in 2026.
There has definitely been progress under this government, but the hard yards are still ahead. The best thing we can all do is raise awareness and talk about these inequalities. I was at a Male Domestic Abuse conference recently and more than half the attendees were women. True allyship happens behind the scenes, not played out on LinkedIn.
My allyship is grounded in actions. Our Girls Like Me program is already breaking down barriers for girls who are struggling with relationships, friendships, body image and harmful behaviours. Despite the prevailing narrative being about boys, many girls experience harm at the hands of other girls and I can’t walk passed that. I never have. Girls deserve better.
I teach children to be able to think two things at once, remain teachable and trust their instincts. They’ll be wrong sometimes, but far more often they’ll be right.
We can all be champions for men and boys.
God knows they need it.
JP
