The Human Rights Commission is pleased to see that the three meetings of “neomasculine” pro-rape and anti-LGBTI group Return of Kings have been cancelled here in New Zealand. Group founder, Roosh Valizadeh The group caught the world’s attention when it was announced they would have an international meetup day, with 165 meetings in 45 countries. The Return of Kings website states that the men believe women should be feminine and men should be masculine, the meetings are to promote “male-bonding”. The website also strictly stated the meetings were for "for heterosexual men only”. The Manager of the Human Rights Network for the Human Rights Commission, Jill Chrisp says, “The Human Rights Commission does not support unfair treatment against anyone and the Human Rights Act protects against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender. “It is objectionable for anyone to promote homophobic and anti-feminist views anywhere, and it is definitely unacceptable in this country. Violence against women, children and rainbow communities in New Zealand is already of deep concern and this blatant encouragement of violence cannot be allowed.” Human Rights Commissioner Richard Tankersley remarked that "there can be a fine line between free speech and hate speech, and the promotion of violence against others in our society crosses that line. There is no room for violent and abusive behaviour in a just and civil society and in no way should we encourage this sort of response to human difference." Mr Tankersley said that New Zealand has made some positive changes in recent times, for example with the development of the White Ribbon campaign. He notes that some in New Zealand have already responded positively to this issue, and invites all men to continue to speak out against the promotion of violence and abuse against others, including against women, trans people and gay people who were targeted as not welcome in the group’s advertisements. The meetings have now been cancelled as the controversial pick-up artist and creator of the group Roosh Valizadeh believes the safety and privacy of the men who wished to attend could not be guaranteed. “It is pleasing to see the groundswell of condemnation from New Zealanders and that proposed events have been cancelled,” says Chrisp.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 4th February 2016 - 5:09pm