Foresight Friday: Fiona Harkin, director of foresight

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, director of foresight Fiona Harkin highlights the pressing need to redefine modern masculinity.

: It’s a sobering topic that landed in my inbox this week as a list of cold, hard facts and was also plastered across all my socials: ‘Even with decades of progress, women are more often victimised by people they know in comparison with male victims and still more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crime’, read Statista’s take on the issue of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and intimate partner violence (IPV).

: 48,800 women and girls are estimated to have been killed by family members or intimate partners worldwide in 2022, according to a new report by the UN. And this week, we saw plenty of headlines that got it wrong about Gisele Pelicot, or sensationalised what happened to Kristina Joksimovic or offered every excuse (warning: distressing details) for a convicted BBC newsreader’s actions.

: Why is this a foresight issue for your business? Our recent report on Women Futures: Australia touched on the growing public outcry about what was once considered a private domestic matter. And the spotlight is on men to not just passively say ‘not all men’ but to actively acknowledge that now, it’s enough men – and to do something about it. Those brands, governments and third sector organisations offering clarity and direction for men on modern masculinity will benefit everyone. As we highlight in our Generations Now and Next report on Gen Z, this gender divide is no longer a ‘women’s issue’.