Good Morning Britain viewers were locked in a fierce debate after hosts Kate Garraway and Susanna Reid asked “are men being demonised?” in a discussion following the death of Sarah Everard.
Her death sparked many women sharing their experience of abuse and harassment, with a study revealing 97% of women have been sexually harassed in their lifetime.
The GMB hosts were speaking with domestic abuse campaigner David Challen, rapper and author Guvna B, and retired footballer and pundit Graeme Le Saux.
Susanna expressed concern that these figures and the sentiment of better protecting women would have a detrimental effect on men’s mental health.
She asked domestic abuse campaigner David Challen: “To what extent is this a problem for all men, and to what extent is this a problem with individual men?
“When a lot of good men sit around talking about how important it is to make women feel safe, are the bad men, the ones who are responsible for toxicity and violence, are they taking part in the conversation and listening?
David replied: “I think the main thing we don’t want to do is demonise men, and I don’t think that is happening, I think #NotAllMen represents a small group of men who are struggling to engage on the issue.
“Yes, a lot of men die too, but when knife crime happens in cities, there it outrage and it’s on the front pages, but the immediate response isn’t from women [asking] ‘What about women?’
“That’s interesting, and I think it’s interesting when it happens, the police don’t tell young men to stay inside, but when it happens to women, they are told to stay inside.
“Restrictions are put on women, men’s lives are imposing on them, they are imprinted with fear, 97% is a lot of women who have this experience and are asking men to engage on this.
“It’s important to recognise that a lot of men are recognising women’s experiences now, the scale of male violence and women that are killed, 93% of killers are men. “
(Image: NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Guvna B said: “Listening to the conversations over the last couple of weeks, a running theme is that they feel unsafe, and that is through no fault of their own, and not all men are bad or predators, but just because you’re not, doesn’t mean this issue doesn’t exist.
“I think it’s strange when the first reaction is one of defence and not compassion.”
Viewers were divided over the topic, as one tweeted: “I do think ALL men are being demonised. It’s just MY observation. I agree ‘some’ men are vile, but we seem to be tarnishing all men. What is the agenda here?”
Another complained: “@GMB now having a debate about are men being demonised? Over the last year or so it feels more specifically that white heterosexual males are being demonised #gmb“.
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(Image: PA)
A third added: “#NotAllMen “Are men being demonized” #gmb yes they are and i find it deeply offensive”.
But others disagreed, writing: ““I find it strange when the first reaction is one of defense than compassion”. Yes @GuvnaB, this is the kind of thing we need to hear from men at the moment! #GMB“.
“Men are not being demonised!!! Let’s erase that word from this conversation! Don’t create or be part of that rhetoric which is creating victim mentality unnecessarily!!!!” wrote another.“
“ARE MEN BEING DEMONISED?” Seriously?” asked a third.
* Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV at 6am
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/angry-gmb-viewers-divided-susanna-23750443