Government Unveils Men’s Mental Health Strategy But Can It Make a Real Difference?

To mark the introduction of the new men’s mental health strategy, we spoke to Toni, a mental health peer support worker who specialises in men’s mental health, to hear her views on the government’s plans and what they could mean for men across England.

The government has launched a new men’s health strategy, aiming to tackle inequalities and improve the mental and physical wellbeing of men and boys across England.

Toni, a mental health peer support worker specialising in men’s mental health, welcomed the announcement but urged caution. In an interview with the Havering Daily, she said, “On International Men’s Day, 19 November, the government announced they were introducing a men’s health strategy to address health inequalities. This is a huge step forward in recognising men’s specific experiences of health, illness and how best to support them.”

She added, “When we talk about men’s health there is often a reticence to specifically acknowledge and advocate for them because the majority of health studies, and therefore medical systems, are based on the male body as default.” Toni highlighted the diversity in men’s health outcomes, pointing out that, “Many men don’t even know how different they are to each other. Black and Asian men have higher rates of prostate cancer than white men. Similarly, Black and South Asian men are more at risk of developing diabetes than White men.”

The strategy is designed to help men understand their wellbeing needs, improve how health services engage with them and provide tailored support. Toni said, “Education is one of the biggest aspects of my work. The strategy also takes a holistic look at men’s wider societal needs such as homelessness and domestic violence, which often get left out of health discussions.”

Despite approving of the approach, Toni raised concerns about its impact. She explained, “These goals are incredibly broad and vague. We can’t improve how men engage with services if we’re not also highlighting and breaking down the societal obstacles and barriers which prevent their help-seeking.”

She was particularly critical of government policy, saying, “It’s exceptionally hard to help men when we have a cognitively dissonant Government who actively work against them. To watch them announce this strategy whilst fuelling the anti-disabled narrative is infuriating. Mental ill health is a disability and one of the most detrimental contributors is poverty and unemployment. Assigning people job coaches in GP practices instead of providing financial support makes it difficult to believe this strategy will have much beneficial impact.”

The new strategy also seeks to address male suicide, with men accounting for approximately 75% of all deaths by suicide each year. Toni stressed the importance of understanding male-specific mental health. “Few people understand the specificity of male mental health. Society has a generalised view which is feminised by default because psychiatry is founded on misogyny. Whenever I run my workshops on male mental health, many men are deeply surprised by how differently they can present with mental ill health and how support needs to be tailored to them.”

While she supports the strategy in principle, Toni emphasised that knowledge and education must come first. “Without education as its first step, the strategy isn’t worth the time it took to publish it. It’s crucial that men and boys understand their own health needs and that services are equipped to engage with them effectively. Only then can we truly help men thrive.”

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