MURAL (Men Understanding Respect and Love) was started in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2005.

Two men, who had been abusers of their female partners and had stopped, met in Johannesburg in October 2005.

They had an important thing in common. They had a problem that was theirs and nobody else’s.
And they had taken concrete steps to prevent it happening again. One of them, Bearnard O’Riain, had published a book called Running to Stand Still. In it he described his long battle to stop his abuse of his wife.

They succeeded and he describes how in his life story. It is a story of hope. And a love story.
While writing the book, O’Riain discovered that there were no support groups in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. His counsellors confirmed that abuse was rife in the so-called white areas. So he started the Support Group, called
Men Understanding Respect And Love – M U R A L.

It is open to men of all ages, race and religious groups and backgrounds.

These men recognise that there are three stages to recovery:
They acknowledge that there is a problem, admit that it is their problem and nobody else’s and take concrete steps to stop it.

What they have in common is that they have taken responsibility for their behaviour, a desire to identify the causes and to find the triggers for that behaviour. Finally, they have a willingness to go for professional help.