Welcome to The Pixel Project’s Voices Of Dads Against VAW blog interview series! This series takes our original 30 For 30 Father’s Day interview series to the next level by opening this interview platform all year round to dads worldwide with one (1) dad interview published per month.
We created this interview series:
- To acknowledge the vital role dads play in families, cultures and communities worldwide.
- To showcase men from different walks of life who are fabulous positive non-violent and non-sexist male role models.
- To provide dads worldwide a positive platform to share ideas about stopping sexism, misogyny, and violence against women and girls.
To date, over 150 dads have completed this simple yet thought-provoking interview. If you are a dad who is interested, you can fill in the interview form here.
For our November 2020 interview, meet Stuart Rudner from Canada.
Picture courtesy of Stuart Rudner.
The Dad Bio:
1. What is the best thing about being a Dad?
The best thing about being a dad is watching my kids grow into amazing people, form their own opinions, develop their own relationships, and improve upon everything we teach them to become better people than we are. It’s also seeing their smiles when they are happy, and just spending time with them. While watching them become more independent is hard, and knowing they won’t always be in our home makes me sad, I also look forward to watching them establish their own lives.
2. A dad is usually the first male role model in a person’s life and fathers do have a significant impact on their sons’ attitude towards women and girls. How has your father (or father figure) influenced the way you see and treat women and girls?
The most important lesson I learned from my dad is to treat everyone with respect, regardless of their colour, religion, gender, job, or anything else.
He worked long hours and my Mom was at home, but when he was home, he didn’t have to be asked to “help out” by taking on chores. There was never any suggestion that there were things that were “women’s work”. We never discussed respecting women specifically (perhaps we would have when I was older, but he passed away when I was 13), but he made it absolutely clear that everyone was to be treated with respect, regardless of gender, race, religion, or socio-economic status. And he demonstrated that at work: whether he was talking to a customer or the person sweeping the floors, they were all treated with the same respect.
He also taught me to enjoy life, keep a positive outlook, and always have a smile on my face.
3. Communities and activists worldwide are starting to recognise that violence against women is not a “women’s issue” but a human rights issue and that men play a role in stopping the violence. How do you think fathers and other male role models can help get young men and boys to take an interest in and step up to help prevent and stop violence against women?
This is not an issue that we discuss regularly but, like I said with respect to my father, it is part of the message that Nathalie (my wife) and I have tried to convey to our kids since they were toddlers. Everyone is to be treated with respect, and you are not only responsible for your own actions, but if you see someone else bullying or harassing another person, you have an obligation to do something about it.
This shouldn’t even be a challenge. We can discuss the issue with our children (of any gender) and ensure that they all understand that violence against women is wrong and that they should never perpetrate or tolerate it. I know my son would never see this as “someone else’s issue” because it’s an issue that is important to everyone.