Equality Must Mean Equality for All

By Michael Thompson, Founder of the Falsely Accused Network

When we talk about equality in this country, we often hear fine words about fairness, justice, and equal rights. But when we step inside a police station, a social services meeting, or a family courtroom, the reality tells a very different story.

For too long, men have been seen as suspects first and human beings second. Time and again, we see fathers who have been written off before they even open their mouths, brothers who are treated as though their innocence doesn’t matter, and sons who are branded with suspicion simply because of their gender.

This is not equality. It is discrimination dressed up as protection.

At the Falsely Accused Network, we stand against all forms of domestic abuse no matter who commits it. Abuse is not gendered. To suggest otherwise is to deny the experiences of countless men who have been victims of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands of female partners. It is also to deny the basic truth that justice must be blind.

We believe in true equality. That means a justice system where the police investigate evidence, not stereotypes. Where social services look at the facts of a case, not outdated assumptions about which parent is automatically safer. Where courts uphold due process, not presumption of guilt based on sex.

When a woman suffers abuse, she deserves protection, support, and justice. When a man suffers abuse, he deserves exactly the same. And when anyone male or female makes a false allegation, that must be treated with the utmost seriousness because false allegations destroy lives, families, and futures.

The damage is devastating. A father falsely accused can lose his home, his children, his career, his reputation all before he has had the chance to defend himself. The presumption of innocence, the very cornerstone of justice, is too often abandoned at the very moment it is needed most.

But here is something important that many people don’t realise: it is not only men who are concerned about this injustice. We have been contacted by countless women, particularly mothers of sons, who are deeply worried about the future their boys will face. They ask us, “If this is how men are treated now, what will happen to my son when he grows up?”

Two tier justice

These mothers have seen the system chew up their husbands, their brothers, their fathers. They have seen young men treated as guilty until proven innocent. They worry for their sons, not because they think their boys will one day commit a crime, but because they fear their sons will not even be given a fair chance if accused.

Their voices matter too. They know that true equality does not mean elevating one gender above another. It means fairness, justice, and dignity for everyone.

And that is what we are fighting for.

Equality must not be selective. Equality cannot mean “fairness for women, suspicion for men.” Equality cannot mean “support for one, silence for the other.” Equality must mean equality for all.

At the Falsely Accused Network, we will never stop challenging injustice. We will continue to speak for those who have been silenced, to stand with those who have been falsely accused, and to push for a justice system that finally lives up to its name.

Because if we truly believe in fairness, if we truly believe in justice, then we must accept this simple truth: abuse is abuse, no matter who commits it. Innocence is innocence, no matter who you are. And justice must be justice for every man, every woman, and every child.

That is the future we are fighting for. And that is the equality we demand.

---

📧 Email: support@falselyaccusednetwork.co.uk

🌐 Website: www.falselyaccusednetwork.co.uk

📞 Telephone: 0204 538 8788

⚖️ Disclaimer: The Falsely Accused Network does not provide legal advice. We are a support and referral organisation. All information relates to England & Wales only.