Here is the latest News Briefing from PARITY:

News Items:

Chair¡¦s obituary for Peter Leckie
Minutes of the 30th PARITY AGM 8 July 2017
Talk by Ian Tyes – Sex Discrimination in the UK ¡V Institutionalised?
Future of prostitution in the UK
HPV vaccine for boys?
CPS makes commitment to male victims of sexual and domestic abuse
PARITY joins Men and Boys Coalition
Rape issues
Women-only issues
PARITY Legacies?

Chair’s Obituary For Peter Leckie:

Sadly, I have to report that Peter Leckie died recently from complications arising out of an illness sustained as a result of certain medicines he was taking. Peter was associated with Parity for many years and contributed greatly to our campaigning work. He became an enthusiastic advocate of men’s rights and participated in our efforts to better the public perception of the true nature domestic violence and the real problems inhibiting boys educational achievements. He edited “Update” for a number of years with great skill and energy. Latterly he took over as Hon Secretary from David Yarwood, retiring from this role only when his illness precluded him from attending meetings and fulfilling his secretarial duties. Peter is missed by us all and we extend our deep sympathies and condolences to his family and friends.

John Mays – Chair

HPV vaccine for boys?:

Should boys be given the HPV jab (Human Papilloma Virus) on the NHS?

Across the UK, all girls aged 12-13 are offered the HPV jab as part of the NHS childhood vaccination programme. Thought to previously cause about 80% of cervical cancers, this figure has fallen sharply since it was introduced.

Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: “Evidence from around the world suggests that the risk of HPV infection in males is dramatically reduced by achieving high uptake of the HPV vaccine among girls”.

This follows on from Dr Kirsty Bonney from Devon saying she wanted to see boys “equally protected” with the HPV vaccine rather than risk cancer in later life. Paying privately for her sons Zak, 13 and Finn, 11 to be immunised, she made the decision after working on a chemotherapy unit, where she looked after two young men
with HPV-related throat cancers.

However the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) found little evidence to justify treating boys too: “While there are some additional benefits to vaccinating both males and females, the current models indicate that extending the programme to boys in the UK, where the uptake in adolescent girls is consistently high (over 85%), would not represent a good use of NHS resources.”

The decision has attracted strong criticism.

The British Dental Association said it would urge the committee to reconsider the evidence. The chair of the BDA, Mick Armstrong, said: “HPV has emerged as the leading cause of oropharyngeal cancers, so JCVI’s unwillingness to expand the vaccination programme to boys is frankly indefensible.”

Shirley Cramer of the Royal Society for Public Health said: “We are deeply disappointed by the JCVI’s decision today, which suggests that fundamental priorities are focused more on saving money than on saving lives. Such a simple vaccination programme has the potential to make such a big impact on the public’s health on a national scale.

We hope that the government’s advisory committee reconsider this decision as soon as possible and put the public’s health and wellbeing before cost-saving.”

The cost-saving argument seems not to make sense as although the cost of vaccinating boys has been estimated at about £20m a year, the cost of treating HPV-related diseases is higher – treating anogenital warts alone in the UK is estimated to cost £58m a year. (Source: HPV Action)

This initial recommendation by the JCVI will now be subject to a public consultation and a final decision will be made this month (October 2017).

Although the decision as it stands is disappointing, it is good to see people speaking up for boys and men.

Sources:

BBC News – 7th June 2017

BBC News – 19th July 2017

PARITY joins Men and Boys Coalition:

The Men and Boys coalition was launched in November 2016 as a network of organisations, academics, journalists, professionals and leaders committed to highlighting and taking action on the gender-specific issues that affect men and boys. PARITY has now joined up with this and is lending its support. By going to their website (mensandboyscoalition.org.uk) you will find PARITY’s logo on there among the others, along with a brief description of our organisation and the website address.

Although PARITY will obviously be supportive of the vast majority of issues and campaigns they run, we reserve the right to withdraw our support on any we disagree with and not to be associated with them.

PARITY legacies?:

PARITY’s work and effectiveness depends largely on the funds we have available. In this respect, we are grateful to all those who have made donations in the past. Funds for our work could also be helped, of course, with legacies. Perhaps members who are able to would like to consider remembering us also in this way when writing or amending their will.

View Full Article Here.

PARITY October 2017.