The simple way the Mayor of London is tackling the city’s sexism problem

For too long, the safety of women and girls has been considered our personal burden. However, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has announced he wants to change that. Today (July 21) marks the launch of an interactive campaign to educate and encourage men and boys to acknowledge their responsibility for sexism and misogyny and to call out their friends if they overstep the line. 

The ‘Maaate’ campaign has been launched after a report commissioned by the Mayor found that two in three men want to step in when a friend says something misogynistic, but don’t know the best way to go about it. It also found that a quarter of guys between the ages of 19 and 34 regret not calling out someone they know for that kind of inappropriate behaviour. 

The slogan was displayed at Piccadilly Circus today and is accompanied by an interactive video where viewers can click ‘maaate’ when they think the language used about women and girls goes too far. 

Comedian and campaign advocate Romesh Ranganathan said: ‘We can no longer allow sexism and misogyny to be dismissed as “banter”’. ‘Maaate’ has also been endorsed by presenter Max Selwood and LADbible group. 

In the words of Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, ‘ending men’s violence against women is everyone’s business.’ Let’s hope this campaign is a step in the right direction.

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