It’s been a busy time for Australia’s first ever Special Envoy for Men’s Health, who has made a big impression in his first five weeks in the job. So, what has he been up and what have we learnt so far about this important role?
On the eve of the Federal election last month, the Hon Dan Repacholi MP made headlines when he told a journalist that he supported the idea of a Minister for Men role in Government, calling it a “no brainer”.
Just two weeks later, the Government appointed Mr Repacholi to the newly created role of Special Envoy for Men’s Health. The focus of the role was defined as “shining a national spotlight on the unique health challenges facing Australian men and boys”, with a focus on three key areas:
- Mental health and suicide prevention
- Chronic illness
- Access to healthcare services
SURVEY: Tell us what you think about the role of the Special Envoy for Men’s Health
Photo: Dan Repacholi
On the eve of the Federal election last month, the Hon Dan Repacholi MP made headlines when he told a journalist that he supported the idea of a Minister for Men role in Government, calling it a “no brainer”.
Just two weeks later, the Government appointed Mr Repacholi to the newly created role of Special Envoy for Men’s Health. The focus of the role was defined as “shining a national spotlight on the unique health challenges facing Australian men and boys”, with a focus on three key areas:
- Mental health and suicide prevention
- Chronic illness
- Access to healthcare services
Sharing his lived experience of health challenges
Mr Repacholi has brought a refreshing openness to the new role, particular when talking about his own health struggles, telling The Guardian:
“I got to 152 kilos, it’s the biggest I’ve ever been. I was walking down the street in Cessnock, and I saw myself in a window … and I thought, ‘Holy fuck, look how fat you are. I was embarrassed to go see my doctor, because I’d gotten so big. I didn’t tell anyone at first … but then I thought, this is going to be fine, I’ll give it a go.”
The difference between men and women
Some of the Special Envoy’s early comments have focused on sharing his views on the way men and women take care of their health, telling the ABC News Breakfast:
“We are just not good at talking about our feelings, we’re built up and through our lives we get told that we don’t need to see a doctor, you don’t need to see this, you don’t need to see that. We do need to go and see doctors; we do need to go get checkups.
“This is one thing that women are amazing at. They talk about their feelings, they go and see their doctors, then they tell them when they have issues. This is something that we have to get better at and I will continue to advocate for that and to make sure that men around this country are getting the best health care they can.”
Mr Repacholi has also shared his observations on men’s approach to health on his social media pages saying that blokes are “our own worst enemies when it comes to health” and that “most of us blokes would rather wrestle a crocodile Bob Katter style, than book a GP appointment”.
Meeting with men’s health projects
A big feature of Mr Repacholi’s passionate approach to his new job has been a range of visits to grassroots men’s health organisations including Men’s Sheds, Top Blokes and the Men’s Health Education Resource Van.
This included a high-profile visit to the Toronto Men’s Shed with Acting Prime Minister, Richard Marles, where he said:
“Everybody that has a Men’s Shed in their community, there is so many men that go to these areas, go to these sheds and do such amazing things. And as Special Envoy for Men’s Health, it is important that men are getting out there and talking about their issues, and that’s what these blokes here are doing today.”
He also rolled up his sleeves to get a blood pressure check in the innovative Men’s Health Education Rural Van, publishing a picture that seemed to show a high blood pressure reading of 147/87.
“Turns out my blood pressure’s a bit high, I blame my staff for working me too hard,” he joked, before reassuring that he will “be seeing my doc next week to follow it up.
Tackling male suicide
Two interviews have given an early insight into the Special Envoy’s views on how to tackle the challenging issue of male suicide, which is the leading killer of men under 65 in Australia.
Asked by the ABC how the nation could tackle this issue, he said:
“By starting the conversations. By talking to your mates to see if they are OK. You would never walked past one of your mates or run past one of your mates who is down and injured on the footy field, so why would you do that in general life as well. If we can see one of our mates are struggling, or we can see they are a little bit different, they’re a bit reserved and not their normal selves, we should be checking in on them and seeing if they’re OK.”
In a more detailed interview with Life in Mind he focused more on the role that support services can play in male suicide prevention. He said that existing services needed to be more “bloke-friendly” and highlighted the importance of specialist services for men:
“We need to invest in programs that connect with men where they are, at work, in sports clubs, in the pub. We also need to tackle the drivers of poor mental health: unemployment, relationship breakdown, and isolation. And we must listen to people with lived experience to guide the way.”
Boys and masculinity
While not part of his health brief, Mr Repacholi has been keen to talk about boys and masculinity. In an early radio interview he told the ABC: “We need to make sure young boys are learning what the right level of masculinity is.”
It’s a message he repeated in a more recent interview with The Guardian: saying:
“It also is about teaching boys and young adolescents the right level of masculinity, through schools as well, about what is acceptable and what isn’t.
“It’s about teaching them how to respect women, how to respect ladies, how to respect girls, or how to respect any partner that they have.”
According to The Guardian, the Department of Social Services has been working on issues around healthy relationships, domestic violence and masculinity for some time and Mr Repacholi says that part of his focus will be to work with social services.
Tell us what you think about the Special Envoy for Men’s Health Role
We’re keen to hear what people think about the appointment of a Special Envoy for Men’s Health and how we can make sure the role makes a difference to men’s health.
We are running a short survey for members and supporters and we’d like to hear your views. You can also share the survey link with others who support men’s health if you wish.
