New Zealand has the highest rate of reported violence towards women in the developed world.  That’s despite 80 per cent of abuse going unreported.

One in three women will experience parent violence in their lives, and 14 woman a year are killed by their partners or ex-partners.

These statistics are a sober reminder today - White Ribbon Day – which is a global campaign led by men who condemn violence against women.

Richie Hardcore is a board member at White Ribbon and an educator in family violence prevention. 

He told Lorna Subritzky says it’s vitally important to get men to talk about this violence.

“If men don’t talk about these things, I don’t think things will ever change. It’s all well and good to speak out and raise awareness, but what tangible things are we as men doing to shift our culture?”

Hardcore says that people often mistake 'toxic masculinity' as meaning men are bed, when it is really referring to how damaging the traditional expectations and interpretations of masculinity can be.

He says that research shows that trying to fit traditional ideals around physicality and strength can be psychologically damaging to men. 

LISTEN TO RICHIE HARDCORE TALK WITH LORNA SUBRITZKY