ookmannen.be is an independent initiative with no advertising, no paywall and no budget. Anyone who finds the site useful helps most through one thing: a link from their own website.
Why a link helps
This site is found mainly through search engines, and search engines weigh how many other sites refer to a page. For a project without a marketing budget, that is the difference between being found and remaining invisible.
On this subject it weighs more heavily than on an ordinary website. Men experiencing partner violence search late, and usually in guarded terms: whether they are too sensitive, whether they are allowed to say this. Someone who finds nothing at that moment easily concludes that it does not exist, or that it does not apply to him. A single referral from a practice website or a support organisation means that such a person ends up somewhere.
It is not about numbers. One link from a general practice, a victim support service or a professional association weighs more than dozens of links from arbitrary places.
Who is this for?
A referral is most useful when it fits your own content:
- general practices, out-of-hours services and primary care networks
- psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists
- victim support services and social welfare centres
- lawyers, mediators and family law services
- police, justice houses and public prosecutors
- peer support groups, men's work and fathers' organisations
- training programmes in medicine, psychology, social work, nursing and criminology
- colleagues writing about partner violence, trauma or parenting after separation
Put the link where it belongs in substance — on a page about partner violence, among your referral addresses, or in a list of helplines. A link that fits nowhere helps no one, this site included.
How do you do it?
Link to the starting point in the language your readers speak:
- English: ookmannen.be/en/
- Dutch: ookmannen.be/nl/
- French: ookmannen.be/fr/
Or link directly to the page that matches your subject:
- Recognizing the signs — for anyone wondering whether this is violence
- Crisis help — emergency numbers and first steps; suitable for a helpline page
- Safety plan — a practical plan for leaving
- For professionals — why male victims remain invisible
Write the link text in your own words. For inspiration, freely adaptable:
- ookmannen.be — information on partner violence against men
- Are you a man experiencing partner violence? Information and helplines
- For professionals: recognising male victims of partner violence
An ordinary link is enough. Nothing is expected in return: no reciprocal link, no mention, no agreement. Anyone who would rather not link but passes the site on helps just as much.
Other ways to help
- Pass it on to colleagues. In a training course, peer review, newsletter or waiting room, this content reaches exactly the people who can do something with it.
- Report errors. A wrong referral, an outdated number, a sentence that does not hold: let it be known via koen@thomeer.be. Corrections are as welcome as compliments.
- Suggest missing literature. Anyone who knows research that belongs here is welcome to send it. The source list grows over time.
- Register a support service. If there is a peer group, shelter or service for men not listed here, that information is worth more than a link.
What this is not about
This is not a fundraiser. No money is requested, nothing is for sale and no data is collected in order to approach anyone later. See the privacy policy for what the site does and does not record.
More about the background of this initiative is on the about and contact page.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get out of linking to ookmannen.be?
Nothing, and that is deliberate. No reciprocal link is requested, no mention and no agreement. The only aim is that men searching for information about partner violence actually find it. Anyone who would rather not link but passes the site on to colleagues helps just as much.
Where is the best place to put the link?
Where it belongs in substance: on a page about partner violence, among your referral addresses, or in a list of helplines. A link from a relevant page weighs more than a link in a general directory, and genuinely helps the reader further.
What link text should I use?
Write it in your own words; that works better than a standard formulation. Usable variants are “ookmannen.be — information on partner violence against men” or “Are you a man experiencing partner violence? Information and helplines”. Avoid link text consisting only of the word “here”.
Does ookmannen.be ask for money or donations?
No. There is no fundraiser, nothing is for sale and no data is collected in order to approach anyone later. The site runs without advertising and without a paywall.