A letter from the Trustees of The Male Journey CIO regarding use of ‘The Male Journey’ name.

We are grateful for the trust placed in us as Trustees, and we want to keep you informed about decisions that affect you. David Anson, Andrew Sully and Tim Lyttle, the Trustees of The Male Journey CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation), had an in-person meeting in Cardiff from 17th to 19th June. While a broad range of subjects were covered, foremost in our minds was Safeguarding, how we best protect every man across the organisation who participates in our work. Apart from the moral responsibility, each Trustee is potentially open to personal legal liability if these duties are not correctly fulfilled.

 

This matter is of utmost importance in relation to the Rites of Passage (Rites) which are now less than 4 weeks away. We have therefore had to expend a lot of time and energy putting into place a comprehensive and detailed safeguarding procedure with the paid assistance of a safeguarding consultant. This has only been possible to achieve in the very tight timeframe because we decided to confine our Procedure to the specific situation of the Rites. We are doing our best to ensure that not only is the Procedure proportionate, but that it does not detract from the key aspects of confidentiality that exist on the Rites within the Home Groups and the Way of Council.  

 

However the Rites is only one of TMJ’s activities. Over the 15+ years of TMJ’s identity there have been a number of other initiatives which have been born out of men’s desires to further our work. Key among these are the many local groups which have sprung up where men can practice the Way of Council. Whereas the Rites has a formal, structured, assessed application process (which is part of the safeguarding process we always had in place but hadn’t fully documented, or named, as such) there is currently nothing comparable in relation to the men who come along to a local group. 

 

This creates a completely different risk profile when trying to formulate a safeguarding Policy and Procedure for TMJ local groups; slightly tweaking the Policy and Procedure for the Rites so that it also covers TMJ local groups is just not possible. Furthermore, it will be at least the end of this month before the Trustees will be confident to sign off the Rites’ Policy and Procedure. Like all of you, we give this work our time and energy alongside the rest of life, and we are having to prioritise the work we are undertaking. Consequently, we do not foresee there being a signed off Safeguarding Policy and Procedure for local groups until this coming autumn. 

 

Additionally an audit of the use of the identifier ‘The Male Journey’ in respect of events and activities has shown us that the name is used very widely and its use is not always aligned with the core values of our organisation. But in no small part this situation has developed because there has never been any formal process on how permission needs to be sought in order to use 'The Male Journey’ identifier.

 

Consequently the Trustees have unanimously concluded that from today the formal name for the organisation will change from “The Male Journey” to “The Male Journey CIO”. Use of this new identifier for any event or activity must be actively sought and specifically granted by the Board of Trustees as it is these events, and only these events, for which the Trustees will be legally responsible and therefore covered by our public liability insurance. Please note that the Trustees are not directing that any existing activities must cease. 

 

Two small changes will also be made at the same time. Firstly, we will be using a new logo for ‘The Male Journey CIO’. Secondly we will be slightly rearranging our website so that events and activities that are formally under ‘The Male Journey CIO’ banner will be in one area and all other events and activities will be signposted in a different area on our website. Stokers of Local Groups who have concerns about the impact of this decision on their group are invited to contact Tim by email (tim@malejourney.org.uk).

 

At present, given progress with Safeguarding, the Trustees are content to confirm that the Rites being held at The Bield next month will be endorsed by The Male Journey CIO. 

 

We remain committed to this work and to the men it serves, and we thank you for your continued partnership.