Time to open up about men's mental health

14 March 2024

The Federation’s Welsh co-leads are determined to reduce the stigma and open up discussions about men’s health issues.

Leigh Godfrey and Zac Mader want to raise the awareness of men’s physical and mental health and to create opportunities for officers to talk about them.

Zac said: “Men are more likely now to talk about health issues, such as prostate cancer, testosterone levels, sexual health and their physical wellbeing.

“We probably couldn’t have imagined having a conversation about those issues 10 years ago - but there’s still a way to go and there are still stigmas.

“We’ve seen it a lot more with the conversations around women’s health, and it is great that aspects of men’s health are part of normal conversation but it’s not on the same level as women’s health.”

Zac said he wanted to raise awareness of the mental health impact on officers of being under a conduct investigation and how it can spiral.

“It’s about their reputation, their professional pride, and the respect of their peers, their families and their friends,” he said.

“If something goes wrong or there’s an accusation, an organisation can very quickly distance itself or disassociate itself from an officer - and that can leave the officer in a lonely and vulnerable position.

“If you’re off work and being investigated, colleagues don’t know if they should talk to you and what to talk about.

“So all of a sudden you’re not getting communication from work, which creates an even bigger feeling of isolation.

“When you take someone’s warrant card from them and potentially take away their livelihood, and their perception is they’ve brought shame onto heir family, and their peers are aware of it, that’s a really toxic mix.

“We’ve seen officers under investigation, sometimes not for major things, making the decision to die by suicide and we need to do all we can to stop that.”

Zac said there was increasing awareness and support, but there was still a long way to go.

“We are working closely with Oscar Kilo and we have a plan throughout 2024/25 to highlight issues and signpost to support,” he said.

“Each individual Force has a responsibility to those individuals, and that is absolutely essential.

“Some Forces have welfare officers who are contact points, but it’s not always easy to build that trust and understand that person is there for you and not the organisation, and people don’t always want to see one.

“The Federation is often having to pick this up. It’s challenging because it’s not our job but we do it.

“It’s around the signposting the person to the right help and support, and making them understand they’re not alone.”

Zac said other factors can impact officers’ mental health such as post-incident trauma or long-term absence.

“When there’s trauma the vast majority of forces have a TRIM process where they can talk, discuss with counsellors or other trained officers,” he said. There is a far better understanding of it.

“Being off work for a long time after being assaulted, for instance, can be depressing. They’re stuck in the house and feel useless because they can’t do anything. We know people self medicate.

“What they don’t tend to do is talk about it. They’ll talk about other stuff apart from saying I need help.

“And that’s what we want to change, by opening up conversations, bringing down barriers, reducing stigmas.”