Worrying about consent (or lack of) could kill
We were struck by the recent, shocking data released by St John’s Ambulance showing that a third of Brits are afraid to give CPR to a woman for fear of breast touching. The research went on to find that 33% of men were concerned they would be accused of ‘inappropriate’ touching if they were to carry out chest compressions on a woman and nearly half the men surveyed said they felt even more uncomfortable about using a defibrillator having been told that the pads need to be placed on bare skin, which would mean removing a bra.
Here at Perfect Storm, not only do we have a health division, but we also have New Macho, a business specialising in how to best communicate with modern men. We thought this research would be a good conversation topic for Nick Dutnall, Managing Partner Health and Fernando Desouches, Managing Director, New Macho to discuss and see if there was anything that could be learnt for marketers targeting men with health messages.
ND:
With your knowledge of today’s men Fer, does this research surprise you?
FD:
Unfortunately Nick, it doesn’t surprise me at all. All of the research we’ve done at New Macho would echo the fact that men are no longer confident in how to behave. What’s expected of men, wherever they are, has changed so much in recent years that they often feel that doing nothing is better than doing what might be perceived as wrong. We also need to be clear that this is how men think they might act in such a situation. It would be interesting to see if that is actually what happens if a situation like this actually occurs.
ND:
I get that when we’re talking about using the right terminology or not being inappropriate with the sort of language we use. Surely something as clear as giving CPR to a woman in need would be different? I totally hear you about the potential difference between a theoretical situation versus an actual situation, but it’s still worrying that men feel, in theory, that this might be an issue for them.
FD:
The pressure that men feel under with regard to the way they behave can be petrifying. As men, we read so many examples of where other men have thought they were acting correctly and yet their actions were perceived differently by onlookers. It makes us all wait for someone else to act first, rather than our actions being questioned and potentially risking our reputations. When it comes to saving the lives of women in need, that’s obviously a major concern. Men are now so used to asking permission, which in most circumstances is obviously the right thing to do, that when consent can’t be sought and given, fear sets in.
ND:
So do you think that this is an issue of consent as opposed to a lack of knowledge about how to administer CPR? Or a mixture of the two? If it was just a lack of knowledge this would be an easy case of educating men about when and how to give CPR, but I’m thinking it’s more of a consent issue.
FD:
All of my experience of working with men and of how they set the boundaries around their own behaviour would suggest that it’s all about consent. How does a man know that providing CPR, including chest compressions and the potential use of a defibrillator, is the right thing to do? It might make medical sense, but what about societal sense? Obviously this is a major health risk for women. What do you think the best way to solve it is?
ND:
Ha! That was going to be my question to you mate. I guess if as blokes we feel that this is about being given the permission to act in a particular way then that’s the way to solve it. We need, somehow, to create a way for women to make it clear to all men that if this situation arises then women do give permission - without question. Simply because it’s a matter of life or death. Somehow though, as usual, it feels unfair to women in some way. They’re the ones having to act in order to make men feel comfortable, there’s something in that that feels a bit wrong. What do you think?
FD:
I think it is about social expectations and permission. And this is where education can play a big role, for any gender. The excellent campaign from the British Heart Foundation with Vinnie Jones comes to mind. Hard Fast. An excellent device to teach blokes how to perform CPR in the right way. Of course, the example here was using another guy as “the patient”. Maybe it is time to continue this campaign with more diversity. Men will pay attention to it and it will give them reassurance about how to act if this happens to a woman or any other person. It would also help to hear women openly permitting men to help in those dramatic situations, confirming that they would do the same if a man needed assistance.
ND:
I remember the Vinny Jones ad really well. A revamped version of that with a female patient is a great idea. Followed up with a way for women to let all men know that they should assume that consent is given when they are in need of CPR. Something that normalises the situation so that men realise that their concerns are unnecessary and that offering life-saving help is far more important than their fears.
FD:
100%. As you always say, Nick, we are humans and humans inherently care for other humans. That some men could struggle to act accordingly is a learnt behaviour not a biological one (although there are some biological differences that can affect how we demonstrate it). Therefore, it needs to be a case of men and women working together. Anything we can do to ensure the lives of women needing CPR are not put at greater risk is a good thing. Right?
ND:
I think this is a really good lesson for health brands targeting men too. This concept of men and women working together and for men to have their feelings/ issues normalised is very important. Typically men will ignore health issues, particularly ones which feel embarrassing or worrying. Working in partnership with women who know and understand them would be a very powerful way in. I’ve seen that done in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) to great effect. The insight being that ED affects the relationship not just the man having this issue. Perhaps more men's health brands should do the same? And maybe there’s a way of doing the same for women’s health too? Increasingly, men of a certain age are being targeted with information about pre-menopause, and menopause again as a way of sharing the burden of a difficult, emotional time of change. Health brands should do more of this.
FD:
Absolutely, and it’s not just in health, Nick. The more brands can serve as a unifying force between men and women, the greater the focus will be on fostering better relationships between all genders, and the stronger these brands will become in the lives of their consumers. Everyone wins. In fact, this is not just a matter of social responsibility, but it is also proven that these positive actions have a significant effect on brand sales and equity.
There’s a lot of talk about brands with purpose, but let’s see more examples of brands actively playing a role. Seeing the issues and working to fix them.
Image by Elements Of This World from Pixabay