A CONFERENCE which addresses men’s responsibility to stamp out domestic and sexual violence will take place at the University of Worcester next month.

American Tony Porter, the visionary and co-founder of A Call to Men, will be the keynote speaker at the event on Friday, November 25.

The date marks the start of international campaign The 16 Days of Action, which aims to end violence against women and will be launched globally on the same day.

The event is being organised by a self-help group of women survivors of domestic abuse called SupportWorks and is being supported by the Worcestershire Forum Against Domestic Abuse.

The conference organisers have also teamed up with the Worcester News as a media partner.

Kay Clarke, the founder of SupportWorks, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tony Porter to speak at our event later in the year.

“He believes that preventing domestic and sexual violence is primarily the responsibility of men.

“Although historically it has been almost entirely women who have been at the forefront of addressing this issue, Tony believes that it is essential that men play a primary role in the solution.

“To do that, well-meaning men – men who, for the most part don’t see themselves as part of the problem – need to get involved.

“His vision is to shift social norms that define manhood in our culture; our event will focus on this and hopefully go some way to creating a more just society.“ SupportWorks was launched in February 2010 and is the only one of its kind in the UK.

The group is unique in that it also raises funds to enable other women survivors of domestic abuse within Worcestershire to access recovery programmes.

The conference will also welcome Deputy Superintendent Karyn McCluskey, of Strathclyde Police’s serious violence unit, and Mark Farrell, from training company Ignition, which focuses on domestic abuse and perpetrator training.

For more information, visit central.info@supportworks.info