Andrew Bernard likes to be called Bernie, and he’s been a professional speaker since 2006. He’s been delivering keynote talks and workshops since then on varied topics, including: Equality, Masculinity, Domestic Abuse, Men’s Mental Health and Male Cancer and so far he’s worked with over 165,000 people in various settings. Bernie has delivered keynotes at BBC New Broadcasting House, Nursing in Practice, NHS, Teaching and Social Work Conferences on the importance of understanding healthy and unhealthy relationships.
He is the author of The Ladder - a careers handbook for schools and businesses to help support young people towards successful futures and confident career choices and is currently working on Where Are The Men? a call-to-action for male allies to help create more safety and equality for women at work, in the home and wider society.
Bernie is known to his clients as a humorous and dynamic speaker who believes in equality and works to challenge unhealthy workplace norms, to recognise boundaries and workplace bullying, to help men become allies to women and encourage empathy and flexibility in everyday interactions.
What Makes A Man / (Hu)Man is his programme to challenge unhelpful dominance-based masculinity and stereotypes in order to encourage more empathy in men and boys…after being a Back Row Boy at school, various scrapes with the law, exam failure and taking more than 17 years to work out his purpose, Bernie brings humour and insight to sessions with teachers, students and parents/carers alike as he discusses the influence of misogynistic social media characters, consent, the impact of porn and the continuing narratives that lead to unhealthy relationships.
Sarah’s Legacy / Domestic Violence is Bernie’s keynote about men’s role in challenging male violence against women and girls following the murder of his sister Sarah Gosling at the hands of her abusive and controlling partner Ian Hope in 2012. Hope is serving a Life sentence with a minimum tariff of 17 years for the crime.
The session covers the gradual way that Hope’s coercive control and controlling behaviours allowed him to increase the abuse towards Sarah and how he eventually took her life.
Bernie talks about what happened to Sarah and why he works with young people and teachers now in his interview with Laura Richards on The Crime Analyst Podcast Episode 205 and Episode 206.
Coercive Control Insights is a session for young people on the way controlling behaviours happen and – due to the influence of porn and ‘relationship coaches’ online – how they are on the increase amongst young people.
Controlling behaviours follow a pattern of escalation which can be missed by victims of the abuser until suddenly the victim realises that their lives have become smaller and controlled by their partner.
The session explores what Coercive Control looks like, some common experiences of controlling behaviour and what to do if you or someone you know experiences it.
As of November 2024, Bernie has spoken to over 50,000 young people about masculinity, coercive control and domestic abuse
As Bernie himself says: “I believe in reflecting on the challenges I and my family have faced in order to turn them into learning and development opportunities for others through my work. My testicular cancer, both my workplace bullying experiences and my sister Sarah Gosling’s death at the hands of her violent partner have all shaped my purpose and topic areas across a wide range of audiences”.
Watch Bernie in action here.
Lancashire
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