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) or more dad interviews 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.
Our first Voices of Dads interview of 2024 is with Shannon Miller from Australia.
Picture courtesy of Shannon Miller.
The Dad Bio:
I am a father of an amazing 5 year old boy. I work in the Family Violence sector and spent 10 years with Child Protection. I was worried to become a father and never saw it was something I would be good at.
1. What is the best thing about being a Dad?
I have worked really hard to raise a compassionate, caring and fun little man and to not hold ideals that I had as a child such as racist, homophobic, rigid gender ideals and when I see my son taking this on board or doing something completely independent, it’s the best feeling in the world. As well as his love for hockey of course!
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?
My own father was mostly respectful for his generation, but not for mine. I grew up learning rigid gender roles: women clean and cook, men work, women look after the children, men control finances. He parented the same as every other father in that era. But through my work and my wonderful partner, this is not us and I want to make sure my own son is not exposed to the parenting and world beliefs that I was.
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?
All children start their lives mimicking their mothers and fathers; if we want our young men to play a role in preventing violence, it starts with us. It doesn’t come down to if we are physically violent. It’s the jokes we make, the comments we make, how we pull up a mate that makes a sexist joke, it’s the shows, movies and music we enjoy. It’s how we communicate with our partners and family. Do we control the finances? Do we ask where our partner is going or who they are with? Do we control their social lives? Do we prioritise our own careers over theirs? These are all major influences and drivers of future violence against women.