Earl Silverman

Earl Silverman (4 July 1948 - 26 April 2013)[2] was a Canadian domestic abuse survivor, activist and Men's rights advocate who founded the Men’s Alternative Safe House (MASH), the only privately-funded domestic abuse shelter for men in Canada, and the Family of Men society, which operated phone lines to assist victims.[3][4][5]

Earl Silverman
Born(1948-06-14)June 14, 1948
DiedApril 26, 2013(2013-04-26) (aged 64)
His house in Calgary
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
Burial placeJewish Memorial Chapel Cemetery Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1]
OrganizationMen's Alternative Safe House Family of Men Society
MovementMen's Rights Movement

He committed suicide on April 26th 2013 shortly after selling the shelter due to bankruptcy and ridicule.[6][7][8]

Biography

Silverman, originally from Montreal, moved to Calgary in 1978.[9]

He fled his violent and abusive wife in the 1990s, but was unable to find a domestic abuse shelter that could take him in, and would face ridicule at the hands of the police.[10] While plenty of shelters for women existed, the only publicly funded services available for men were for anger management. “As a victim, I was re-victimized by having these services telling me that I wasn’t a victim, but I was a perpetrator,” Silverman told the National Post.[3][11][12]

After leaving his home, Silverman had spiraled into self-abuse and alcoholism.[3]

Family of Men Society

Silverman founded the Family of Men support society. The organization maintained a telephone crisis line for over a decade to assist men in matters of abuse.[13][9]

Men’s Alternative Safe House

Men’s Alternative Safe House was started in 2010, in Earl's own house in Calgary, making it the only privately funded shelter for male victims of domestic abuse in Canada. MASH hosted about 20 fleeing men and children in 2013 before being shut down. With no public funds to help, Silverman funded the running costs and bills himself, failing to raise significant amounts from either government or private donations.[3][14][15]

In early 2013, Silverman announced that the sanctuary will be closing because he could no longer afford to run it due to a lack of funding. He sold the house shortly after to a man named Steven Howitt, and committed suicide the next day.[3][15]

Death

Silverman was found dead by hanging in his garage on April 26th, 2013, in an apparent suicide.[6] His body was discovered by Howitt, who called for help but was unable to save him. Earl left a four-page suicide note, condemning the government for failing to recognize male victims of domestic abuse.[3][6][15] Financial ruin and ridicule was said to have contributed to his suicide.[8]

Legacy

Silverman's will directed that the funds from his estate should be dispersed so as to create an 'educational scholarship for male victims of female perpetrated domestic violence.' The superior court of Alberta directed that the funds should be directed to the Mount Royal University Foundation for this purpose.[16][15]

Erin Pizzey, writer and founder of Refuge, said Silverman 'was a martyr to the indifference of the Canadian Government, and we will never forget his name,' and noted that she worried there will be no change in the 'stone-hearted' Canadian government[5][17][18] Men's Rights publication A Voice for Men penned Silverman’s legacy as 'one of providing shelter and help to human beings that the rest of our society is content to see abused, homeless, and disregarded to their deaths.'

See also

References
  1. "Earl Silverman (1948-2013) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  2. "Earl Silverman (1948-2013) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  3. "Man who ran Canada's only shelter dedicated solely to male victims of domestic abuse dies in apparent suicide". National Post. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  4. Stephenson, Amanda. "Calgarian who founded shelter for male victims of domestic abuse mourned". www.calgaryherald.com. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  5. "Owner Of Shelter For Male Domestic Abuse Victims In Apparent Suicide". HuffPost Canada. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  6. "Need knows no gender". The Independent. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  7. Abad-Santos, Alexander (2013-04-29). "Men's Rights Advocate Earl Silverman Leaves a Legacy of Feminist-Bashing". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  8. "Owner of shelter for abused men and children commits suicide after financial ruin, ridicule". Womens Post. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  9. "10 May 2013, 31 - Calgary Herald at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  10. Hutchinson, Brian (May 13, 1991). "Trading Punches" (PDF). Alberta Report: 41.
  11. "Feminism didn't kill men's rights advocate Earl Silverman". Salon. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  12. "Female violence society's "dirty little secret," especially in Alberta : Beacon News". web.archive.org. 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  13. "14 Jul 1994, 87 - Calgary Herald at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  14. "Calgarian who founded shelter for male victims of domestic abuse mourned". web.archive.org. 2013-08-10. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  15. "Calgary man who opened first shelter for abused men commits suicide after being forced to sell refuge". ca.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  16. "Family of Men Support Society » Court designates MRU as residual beneficiary of the Estate of Earl Silverman". Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  17. "r/IAmA - Comment by u/erinpizzey on "Hi I'm Erin Pizzey, founder of the first Women's Refuge in the UK. Ask me anything!"". reddit. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  18. "r/IAmA - Comment by u/erinpizzey on "Hi I'm Erin Pizzey, founder of the first Women's Refuge in the UK. Ask me anything!"". reddit. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
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