Safe Ground has long recognised that the stereotypes, pressures, and expectations of being a man shape an individual’s identity, particularly in the context of the hyper-masculine, insecure and authoritarian environment that is prison. Our response was the Man Up Programme, conceived during a pilot project with men at HMP Wandsworth in 2014.

“As a man in this course…
I have learnt to understand about myself and learn that anger … is not always the right way to go in life.
Sometimes it’s best to move yourself and think how far I have come before you go into a bad frame of mind. Before I done this course I was having to deal with my mental health, my trauma, and this has helped understand talking is the right way to go. People used to tell me that going the wrong way in life can affect you and others. What this course has done for me is change my mindset. Change into a man I want to become. I would like to say thank you for understanding me, you have taught me a lot. This will help me learn about myself.

Thank you.”