In Clementine Ford, Lifeline has made a grave mistake

WITH rates of suicide and mental health problems substantially higher in men than women, it makes no sense for Lifeline to have invited a woman who says “kill all men” into its orbit, writes Miranda Devine.

HOW could Lifeline even have contemplated sponsoring man-hating twitter troll Clementine Ford as keynote speaker at a domestic violence awareness forum in Victoria (where else) next month?

This is a woman who has made her name with the most vile misandry, with tweets such as “Kill All Men”, “All men must die” and “I bathe in male tears”. Whether it’s just a schtick or she has a genuine problem accepting that the other half of humanity has the right to exist, who knows. Attention seekers like Ford are best ignored.

But Lifeline, which is supposed to be a suicide prevention organisation, has decided that her views are worth backing. It seems not to realise how profoundly its participation in such a divisive event betrays its core business. After all, Lifeline’s own website states that males commit suicide at three times the rate of females. Male suicide is a hidden epidemic.

The “Recognise, Respond, Refer” event at which Ford is booked, at the State Library of Victoria on May 29, is organised by one of those ubiquitous activist organisations the government enjoys funding, DV Alert, a training program to reduce violence against women which describes itself as a “partner” of Lifeline.

If Lifeline, whose main clientele is men, doesn’t have a partnership with a government-funded organisation designed to reduce violence against men then maybe it’s no wonder it’s embraced a man hater.

Lifeline was founded in 1963 by the late Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker, after he received a phone call from a distressed man who later took his own life, according to the website.

“Determined not to let isolation and lack of support be the cause of more deaths, Sir Alan launched a 24-hour crisis support line. This service (13 11 14) now answers around 1,800 calls each day, with around 50 calls from people at high risk of suicide.”

How would the late Reverend feel to see the worthwhile charity he founded playing such a dangerous game with its most vulnerable population? How must the 11,000 volunteers who give their time to help the suicidal feel about such a profound betrayal of Lifeline’s mission?

Brendan Nelson, director of the Australian War Memorial, and former defence minister, also is Lifeline patron for ACT and southern NSW. He was shocked to hear of the Ford invitation on Miranda Live: “All I can say is that is not an invitation I would be endorsing or condoning.”

It’s a pity his counterparts in Victoria don’t feel the same way.