Men and women around the world are shouting: “Stop False Allegations Against Men!” through a new social justice movement initiated by Ulysses “Butch” Slaughter, an artistic activist based near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Target of a false allegation by his ex-wife in August 2021, Mr. Slaughter has created a firestorm of discussion on the popular social media platform, TikTok, where his related posts attracted more than 3-million views in less than a week; his follower count has increased by 23,000 in that period also. He said the topic of false allegations against men has struck a nerve in many countries on several continents. Like the #metoo movement, Mr. Slaughter believes this movement will gain strong traction and much-needed attention.

“Ultimately, I expect to sit aside other men and women before legislators and advocate for major change,” said Mr. Slaughter who has successfully championed social causes including an apology for The Philadelphia MOVE Bombing of 1985. “Right now, our work is to lift and hear the silenced voices of many men around the world who have been devastated by unethical women, unethical attorneys and an imbalanced judicial system that allows this abuse to occur.”

Early in his career, Mr. Slaughter fought passionately against domestic violence aimed at women. At age 12, he listened as his mother was killed by his father in Chicago. He lectured, wrote a book and created a short film about this childhood tragedy that took his mother’s life. At age 55, Mr. Slaughter was accused of abuse by his soon-to-be ex-wife. She took him to court in Delaware County, PA and had him removed from their home even though a judge said evidence of abuse was unfounded. Before making the abuse claim, his wife had filed for divorce without letting Mr. Slaughter know.

“Though the abuse claim was unfounded, I was still removed from the house and my personal destabilization began without cause,” said Mr. Slaughter. “A false allegation is a lie. If the claim is unfounded, it’s without merit and should be addressed that way. I was criminalized and punished without cause. False allegations against men can happen whether you’re married or not; this is not an issue of divorce. It’s an issue of decency.”

The campaign Stop False Allegations Against Men aims to raise the voices of men, first and foremost, said Mr. Slaughter. As their voices rise collectively, he said the group will take their message to organizations, campuses and politicians.

“My story on TikTok has men reflecting on traumatic experiences they wanted to forget but could not forget,” said Mr. Slaughter. “Like women, there are subtle ways men are told to just move on and forget about what happened. And many of the men have lost hope, money, relationships with their children and their good reputations. This must be confronted right now.”