The Australian Kids Helpline, which receives 20% of its funding from Australian State and Federal governments, reported in it’s Kids Helpline Insights Report 2018, a worrying decline in use of its counselling services by boys (21%; down from 33% in 2007), and an increasing dominance of the services provided to girls (77%). This massive and very concerning statistic was barely reported in the government funded media at the time. This link to the SBS was the only reference I could find in Australian and international media resources. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/young-boys-are-calling-the-kids-helpline-far-less-often-than-young-girls
This trend in service provision is reflected in the Kids Helpline 2018-2019 Annual Client Survey which identified that 83% of respondents were female, 11% were male and 6% described themselves as gender diverse, consistent with gender counselling service recipients of 77% female, 21% male and 2% gender diverse. https://www.yourtown.com.au/insights/research-and-evaluations
No significant improvement was noted in this trend in the 2019-2020 report which identified that 79% of respondents were female, 13% were male and 8% described themselves as gender diverse (this assumes that respondents to the survey reflects the numbers of services provided as service data was magically disappeared for the 2019-2020 report). https://kidshelpline.com.au/counselling-evaluation-2020
Completely lacking from the Annual Client Surveys, was any exploration or even acknowledgement of the causes of this massive gender bias reported in their service data. They simply didn’t care enough to ask their clients about this issue. No further mention of this statistic, and no updated data is found on the Kids Helpline site. While one initiative to contact boys through internet gaming chat was described, no updated data of service provision by sex was reported. There is no report of whether this service denial continues to worsen two years after it was last reported.
Running services that are demonstrably designed to appeal to, reach out to and meet the needs of women and girls, in preference to men and boys, is in reality service denial on the basis of sex. Often this is related to the appointment of feminists to key roles in charitable and service provider organisations. Similar service denial can be noted in the Australian response to male suicide where key roles held by feminists have resulted in a continuing and demonstrably ineffective gender neutral approach to suicide (>70% of suicides are males), and the Family Court of Australia where data on separation and post separation child orders are strictly controlled, and only published after being adjusted and subjected to substantial reporting bias by feminist academics (men giving up all hope of a fair court adjudicated outcome are reframed as accepting the wisdom of traditional gender roles in child custody).
This trend in service denial to men and boys is becoming common and widespread, including in services receiving substantial government funding. What us more concerning is the invisibility of this service denial in the media, public policy and mandatory reporting of service provision. By simply discontinuing reporting of data that reveals gender bias in service provision, the problems experienced by men and boys in accessing male friendly services (not male stereotyped) is neatly “disappeared”.
In the case of Kids Helpline, the myth of a great kids service hides an ugly sexist culture in which successfully reaching out to our children in need, is dominated by a gender bias approaching 80% female service provision. Who is caring for our boys?
there doesn't seem to be anything here