Mark Brooks OBE
Communications, public policy and domestic abuse advisorMark Brooks OBE is a national communications, public policy and domestic abuse advisor. This includes specialist expertise on men and boys’ marketing communication campaigns supporting help-seeking, service access and inclusion/culture change.
For over 25 years, he has worked in senior communication and public policy roles for national financial services organisations, membership bodies and the third sector. He regularly speaks at conferences, on national media and advises a range of public bodies, think tanks/policy makers, government departments, academics, employers and charities. He is also currently advising a skills body on their communications and providing speeches/articles for MPs.
Mark was awarded an OBE in 2019 for his charity and campaigning work in supporting male victims of domestic abuse, the only person in the UK to ever to be awarded an honour in this field. He was recently interviewed for The Times Radio’s national leaders feature by Jon Pienaar.
He is the Chair of the ManKind Initiative domestic abuse charity, a Co-founder/Trustee of the Men and Boys Coalition charity (an umbrella charity of 100 other charities and academics) and the National Lead Organiser/Ambassador for International Men’s Day in the UK. He is a member of the Government’s (DLUHC) expert panel on safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims and the policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Issues Affecting Men and Boys. On the latter he has recently written policy papers on a men’s health strategy and male suicide prevention.
Mark is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and is currently providing communications support to a skills trade body and has previously been the director/head of communications at two large national charities. He has specialist expertise in marketing communication campaigns to support/encourage male help-seeking, service access and inclusion/culture change.
He is a qualified domestic abuse services manager and in the past few years has created the national practitioners’ community network for male victims and lead the development of National Service Standards. He is an expert panel member on a range of domestic homicide reviews for male victims of domestic abuse across England.
Mark is available to:
Provide senior communications and public policy support to organisations including charities, skills organisations and membership bodies
Advise on how to run marketing communication and public policy campaigns to support men’s help-seeking, service access and culture change/inclusion
Be an expert panelist on domestic homicide reviews featuring male victims of domestic abuse
Be a member of domestic abuse partnership boards and inclusion/diversity committees/boards
Write articles and public policy reports
Speak at conferences, give talks and presentations
Below are a wide range of the marketing communication and public policy campaign areas that Mark can advise on with respect to male help-seeking, service access and culture change/inclusion.
The challenges faced by boys and men at all stages of education including attainment
Men’s health (including male cancers), shorter life expectancy and workplace deaths
Male victims and survivors of sexual abuse, rape, sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based crime, stalking and slavery
The challenges faced by the most marginalised men and boys in society (for instance, homeless men, boys in care and the high rate of male deaths in custody)
The high male suicide rate
Male victims of violence, including domestic abuse and sexual violence
The challenges faced by men as parents, particularly new fathers and separated fathers
The negative portrayal of men, boys and fathers
© 2022 – Mark Brooks OBE