About the 'Real Man' Campaign

Women's Aid has developed a national campaign where male role models stand up and say that violence against women is unacceptable. We are asking 'Real Men' to help us to send out the message that Real men do not abuse and control women – physically, emotionally, sexually or financially.

First phase...
The Campaign launched at the beginning of June 2010 in Cosmopolitan magazine, with the images of the 'Real Men' featuring ‘Real Man’ t-shirts designed by Henry Holland. The ‘Real Man’ Campaign t-shirts were exclusively available from Debenhams, with T-shirts bearing the slogan 'I'm a fan of a real man' available for women.

Second phase...
To mark the International 16 Days of Action Against Gender Violence, from 25th November until 10th December, we launched the next stage of the ‘Real Man’ Campaign with a dedicated microsite, www.realmancampaign.com. Visit the site, and have a look around!

View quotes from the celebrities
View FAQ's about the Real Man Campaign

The Real Men

The Real Men who have taken part in the campaign include Charity Ambassador Gordon Ramsay, Capital FM’s Dave Berry, Diversity’s Ashley Banjo, Women’s Aid Ambassador Will Young, Duncan Bannatyne OBE, actor Ricky Whittle, TV presenter Gethin Jones, Huey Morgan from the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, and Harlequins and England rugby Internationals Danny Care and Ugo Monye, Midsomer Murders’ actor John Nettles, Soccer AM presenter Max Rushden, chef Tom Aikens, actor Max Beesley, and Magic FM’s Neil Fox,

The campaign has also been backed by Women's Aid Ambassador Bill Ward.

Nicola Harwin CBE, Chief Executive of Women's Aid said:

"We are delighted to be able to launch our 'Real Man' campaign that sends out the clear message that a 'Real Man' would never be abusive or violent towards a partner. Women’s Aid wants to engage with men, the majority of whom are not perpetrators of violence against women, to support our work to end violence against women and children and to actively refuse to tolerate any form of this crime.

We are so grateful to the men involved for donating their time and energy to our campaign. Some police areas have found an increase in the reporting of incidents of domestic violence during big sporting events such as the World Cup, so now is a very relevant time to raise awareness. We hope that this campaign will reach out to both men and women to send out the clear message that domestic violence is never acceptable."

Louise Court, Editor of Cosmopolitan said:
"Cosmopolitan has a long history of campaigning against domestic violence. When we heard the shocking statistics of the increased levels of domestic abuse around big sporting events such as the World Cup, we just had to get involved. The World Cup should be something everyone can enjoy. The start of an England game shouldn’t signal a feeling of total fear in some women who, whether England win or lose, know they will be subjected to physical and verbal violence from the men in their lives. More needs to be done to raise awareness of abusive relationships and the fantastic work that Women's Aid does in supporting the many victims of this crime. The 'Real Man' campaign does exactly this by challenging the visual clichés of what it means to be a masculine man. We're proud to help spread the message that a 'Real Man' would never abuse women and domestic violence is never acceptable."

Ruth Attridge, Spokesperson for Debenhams said:
“We’re proud to announce the launch of the ‘Real Man’ t-shirts, designed by Henry Holland and sold to raise awareness and funds for the vital work of Women’s Aid. We are sure both our male and female customers will rush to pick up these tees and make a joint stand against domestic violence.”

Chris Hirst, CEO for Grey London comments:
"The support behind our last, hugely successful, campaign featuring Keira Knightley was staggering, particularly from men. This time we wanted to create a campaign that targets the large number of men who feel very strongly about the issue. To make them a vocal pressure group that lets perpetrators of domestic violence know that violence and intimidation towards women it is no longer tolerated in society."

Our thanks...

We would like to thank Grey London and photographer David Titlow for donating their services for free. We would also like to thank all the celebrities for taking part, and our media partners who have donated free media space.

Help and support

If you or a friend are experiencing abuse in a relationship, you can go find help and support on our website, or call the National Domestic Violence Helpline (run in partnership between Women's Aid and Refuge) on 0808 2000 247.

If you would like to fundraise to help support the work of Women's Aid, please email us.