International Men's Day 2020: The unsung event which champions men's rights around the world

On March 8 every year, the same inquisitive/pointed questions get asked again and again, especially on Twitter. Namely, 'is there an  International Men's Day?' and 'when is it?'

Why March 8? Oh, because that's when International Women's Day is and certain men just can't handle the focus not being on them. But fear not, chaps, for we have the answers. Here is everything you need to know about International Men's Day.

This year marks 28 years since the first International Men's Day celebration was held in Malta, and 21 years since the project was reinitialised in Trinidad and Tobago, but we'll explain a little more about the history of the event in due course.

The global event encourages every man, woman and child to recognise the positive impact of men on society, to focus on men's health and wellbeing issues, and to improve gender relations.

So, is there an International Men's Day?

Yes, the good news for everyone is that there is indeed an International Men's Day - and it falls on November 19 every year.

The even better news is that the comedian Richard Herring takes it upon himself every year to spend International Women's Day answering those questions. Typically, his replies begin politely, grow ever more exasperated, and end in a torrent of fury.

The day's history

International Women's Day has been around a lot longer than its counterpart for men. In 1910, a woman called Clara Zetkin – leader of the ‘women’s office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany – tabled the idea of an International Women’s Day. She suggested that every country should celebrate women on one day every year to push for their demands.

International Women's Day was first celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19 1911. In 1913, it was decided to transfer IWD to March 8, and it has been celebrated on that day ever since - and the day was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1975.

By the Sixties, men were starting to feel left behind; in 1968 the US journalist John P Harris wrote about the lack of an equivalent day for men in the Salina Journal, saying: "This strikes me as unwarranted discrimination and rank injustice." Strikingly, this is exactly the same argument made in the modern day whenever International Women's Day takes place suggesting that while men are quick to demand equality in this area, they have been slow to recognise that they've achieved it.

No large-scale event was successful for several decades; in the Nineties some events were held in the US, Australia and Europe however they failed to take off in the following years.

It wasn't until 1999 that the day began to take shape. Jerome Teelucksingh, a history lecturer at University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, organised events for International Men's Day, holding the day on his father's birthday.

The day has gone from strength to strength and now aims to address six key issues, which its organisers call 'the 6 Pillars of International Men’s Day'. These are:

1. To promote positive male role models; not just movie stars and sports men but every day, working class men who are living decent, honest lives

2. To celebrate men’s positive contributions to society, community, family, marriage, child care, and to the environment.

3. To focus on men’s health and wellbeing; social, emotional, physical and spiritual.

4. To highlight discrimination against men; in areas of social services, social attitudes and expectations, and law

5. To improve gender relations and promote gender equality

6. To create a safer, better world; where people can be safe and grow to reach their full potential

This year's IMD theme

Each year a theme is assigned to the event. The theme for 2020 is the idea of “Better Health for Men and Boys”. The International Men's Day website says the theme promotes “the need to value men and boys and help people make practical improvements in men and boy’s health and well-being”, adding:

“The concept and themes of International Men’s Day are designed to give hope to the depressed, faith to the lonely, comfort to the broken-hearted, transcend barriers, eliminate stereotypes and create a more caring humanity.”

In recent years International Men's Day has focused on the issues which affect men more than women, highlighting the areas where males are negatively impacted by the societal norms. Previous themes include "Celebrating Men And Boys In All Their Diversity", "Stop Male Suicide", "Keeping Men and Boys Safe".

Men have a suicide rate which is three times higher than women, while one in three men have reportedly been the victims of domestic violence. We covered several of the shocking statistics around men's health and social wellbeing here, if you'd like to read up.

Do we need an International Men's Day?

On Telegraph Men, we regularly argue that men deserve our own day in the calendar to highlight issues that affect masculinity the world over. That's not to say, however, that these issues should be the focus of attention on International Women's Day. They really shouldn't.

Here's an explanation by Glen Poole, UK co-ordinator for International Men’s Day, on why International Men's Day deserves recognition:

Read the article in full here.