A campaign to celebrate ‘Real Men’ for their exemplary efforts and contribution in the Virgin Islands will be launched this month.

The campaign will be led by the Social Development Department in collaboration with the Office of Gender Affairs, and will focus on promoting positive local male figures that would denounce negative stereotypes where men are concerned.

Deputy Social Development Officer, Mrs. Stacie Stout James said that over the years, the department realised the messaging surrounding men was primarily negative and that the department wanted to promote more positivity.

Mrs. Stoutt James explained that over the past years, the department has received reports of both men and women as perpetrators of violence; however, men represented a significantly larger percentage as perpetrators in domestic, child and substance abuse cases.

“There are men who are doing good things in our community and are doing real things for our boy and girls, and in return we wanted to encourage them to continue the good work. We continue to encourage the development of healthy communities and strong families by sending the message that there are men within our communities who continue to contribute to healthy families and with this Real Men campaign, we believe we are well on our way,” she said.

Mrs. Stoutt James added that men within the community were identified and   expressed willingness to be a part of the movement promoting ‘Real Men’.

The campaign will be promoted on local television, radio, the internet and social media via the Facebook pages Government of the Virgin Islands, Gender Affairs VI and Ministry of Health and Social Development.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development aspires to provide a caring and integrated system of health and social services that facilitates human development and improves the quality of life in the Virgin Islands.