Men have a vital role to play in ending menâs violence against women. The field of efforts to engage men and boys in violence prevention is growing rapidly, across policy and programming, scholarship, and advocacy and activism. This is embodied in the growth of national and global interventions and campaigns, initiatives by international agencies, and scholarly assessments of their impact and significance. Across the globe, a wide variety of violence prevention initiatives in schools and elsewhere now address boys and young men, sporting codes have adopted measures to involve male players in building respectful cultures, and institutions such as the military are moving towards similar initiatives.
This book provides a comprehensive guide to engaging men and boys in the prevention of violence against women and girls and other forms of violence and abuse. It provides an informed and accessible framework for understanding, supporting, and critically assessing menâs roles in violence prevention.
There are three elements to the bookâs background. First, violence against women (including physical and sexual assaults and other behaviours which result in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women) has been identified as a widespread social problem. Second, there is an increasing emphasis on the primary prevention of violence against women in government and community effortsâon not just responding to victims and perpetrators, but also in preventing this violence from occurring in the first place. Third, a significant trend in violence prevention is the growing focus on engaging men and boys in prevention. Around the world there are growing efforts to involve boys and men in various capacities: as participants in education programs, as targets of social marketing campaigns, as policy-makers and gatekeepers, and as activists and advocates. There is a groundswell of community-based prevention activity directed at men and boys. There is significant policy support for male involvement in violence prevention, evident in recent plans of action by national governments and affirmed by international agencies. In short, violence prevention efforts aimed at men and boys are on the public agenda, are being adopted and funded increasingly widely, and have a powerful rationale.
The book Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention provides a critical assessment of efforts to engage men and boys in violence prevention. It offers a distinctive and timely discussion of an area of work and scholarship which is receiving growing national and international attention. The book highlights innovative, creative, and compelling examples of work engaging men and boys, both among particular groups (such as sports players, faith leaders, corporate men, blue collar men, young men in schools, and men in uniform) and in particular settings (such as workplaces and social movements).
This book provides robust, practical guidance regarding effective strategies to reduce and prevent violence against women. The book is oriented towards the production of practical guidance for educators, advocates, and policy-makers: a conceptual framework for understanding and supporting menâs and boysâ roles in violence prevention, robust assessment of particular interventions, and guidance regarding the effective use of key strategies. In short, the book identifies what works and what does not.
Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention has an international focus. Some of the most well-developed or innovative efforts to involve men and boys in violence prevention take place outside North America and the UK, with notable efforts visible in Brazil, India, and elsewhere. The book includes case studies from a wide variety of countries and regions. It offers a framework for engaging men which is applicable in a wide variety of settings, national and international. At the same time, the book highlights the challenges of violence prevention with men and boys in particular cultures and contexts.
The book avoids two extremes regarding menâs and boysâ involvement in violence prevention. On the one hand, there is a naĂŻve optimism that short-term, simple interventions will shift lifelong habits of behaviour and entrenched inequalities. On the other, there is a paralysing pessimism about the prospects of change among males. In its discussions of existing efforts, the book highlights both positive and negative impacts: interventions and strategies which have made a positive difference, and those which have had neutral or negative impacts.
The book also explores controversies regarding efforts to engage men and boys in violence prevention. Are they at the expense of efforts focused on women and girls? Are they complicit with dominant constructions of masculinity? To what extent has âwork with menâ come to be seen as an end in itself rather than as a means to gender equality? And so on. At the same time, the book is guided by a determination to make a positive and significant contribution to the prevention of violence against women.
Outline of the Book
The book is organised into three parts: Part I: The problem and its prevention; Part II: Strategies and settings; and Part III: Challenges.
Part I: The Problem and Its Prevention
Part I of the book introduces the problem it addresses, the arguments for engaging men and boys in prevention, and the principles which should guide this work.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of menâs violence against women, noting its character, typical dynamics, impacts, and causes. It begins by noting debates over how to define violence and particular forms of violence. The chapter summarises what is known about the causes of menâs violence against women, highlighting that this violence is grounded above all in the meanings, practices, and relations associated with gender. The chapter highlights contemporary debates in scholarship and advocacy over menâs violence against women. These include debates over how to define violence and particular forms of violence, and the chapter argues for an understanding of domestic violence for example which moves beyond discrete physically aggressive acts to a broader conceptualisation which includes a range of strategies of coercive control enacted by one person against another. The chapter highlights further trends including growing recognition of diverse forms of interpersonal violence, examination of the social and structural foundations of menâs violence against women, debates over measurement and evaluation, and shifts in violence against women itself.
Chapter 3 introduces the reader to the primary prevention of violence against women. It explains how primary prevention differs from other forms of prevention and intervention activity. It describes the public health and ecological models of prevention which dominate the field and notes debates about their utility and insight.
Are existing interventions with men and boys effective? Chapter 3 then explores the effectiveness of efforts among men and boys to change the attitudes and behaviours associated with violence against women. Although there are important limitations to the existing evidence, this does show that well-designed interventions can make change. The chapter then works through a spectrum of strategies of prevention, discussing the evidence for the effectiveness of strategies at each level. Moving from micro to macro, these levels are: (1) strengthening individual knowledge and skills; (2) promoting community education; (3) educating providers; (4) engaging, strengthening, and mobilising communities; (5) changing organisational practices; and (6) influencing policies and legislation. The chapter provides examples of efforts at each level, drawn from around the globe. The chapter concludes by noting the consensus in the field that violence prevention should be informed, comprehensive, engaging, and relevant.
Chapter 4 argues that engaging men and boys is part of the solution to menâs violence against women. It identifies a compelling, threefold rationale for addressing men in ending violence against women. First and most importantly, efforts to prevent violence against women must address men because largely it is men who perpetrate this violence. Second, constructions of masculinityâthe social norms associated with manhood, and the social organisation of menâs lives and relationsâplay a crucial role in shaping violence against women. Third, and more hopefully, men and boys have a positive role to play in helping to stop violence against women, and they will benefit personally and relationally from this.
There are also tensions and critiques regarding this rationale. This chapter examines four questions:
- While there is widespread agreement that menâs anti-violence work should be accountable, what does this mean in practice?
- Although there is a powerful rationale for engaging men, does this mean that there is a universal imperative of male inclusion?
- Does the claim often made in this field that âmost men do not use violenceâ excuse men from collective responsibility for violence against women and neglect many menâs use of various strategies of coercion and control against women?
- Does an appeal to the ways in which men will âbenefitâ from progress towards non-violence and gender equality downplay what men also have to lose if patriarchal privileges are challenged?
Part II: Strategies and Settings
The book then moves to the practicalities of making change among men. Part II explores the strategies and settings which can be used to engage men and boys in preventing and reducing violence against women. It begins with the general challenge of making the project of preventing and reducing violence against women relevant and meaningful for men, before exploring particular strategies for change.
To involve men and boys in making change, we must first know something about where they stand. If we are to reach men and boysâto spark their initial interest, secure their participation, and inspire their ongoing involvementâwe must know about their existing attitudes towards violence against women, their existing involvements in gender relations, and so on. Chapter 5 begins with where men and boys stand: the extent to which men actually perpetrate violence against women, menâs attitudes towards this violence, and menâs beliefs and practices when it comes to speaking up or acting in opposition to this violence.
Why do many men show disinterest in, or active resistance to, involvement in efforts to end menâs violence against women? Chapter 5 then explores what prevents men from supporting and contributing to violence prevention campaigns. Barriers range from menâs sexist and violence-supportive attitudes, to their overestimation of other menâs comfort with violence, to lack of knowledge or skills in intervention or opportunities for participation. The chapter then explores, on the other hand, what inspires menâs involvement. How is it that some men become passionate advocates for ending violence against women? There are common paths for men into anti-violence advocacy. For many men, initial sensitisation to the issue of violence against women comes from hearing from women about the violence they have suffered. These and other experiences raise menâs awareness of violence or gender inequalities. However, a tangible opportunity to participate in anti-violence work also is influential, as is then making sense of this experience in ways which inspire further involvement.
How do we make the case to men that violence against women is an issue of direct relevance to them? Chapter 5 explores proven ways to inspire men that violence against women is a âmenâs issueâ. It shows how to personalise the issue, appeal to values and principles, show that men will benefit, build on strengths, and start small and build from there. Making the case to men also involves popularising feminism, diminishing fears of othersâ reactions, building knowledge and skills in intervention, and fostering communities of support.
Chapter 6 focuses on one of the most common forms of violence prevention strategy among men and boys, face-to-face education. Around the world, interactive workshops and training sessions are used with men and boys to build their gender-equitable understandings, teach skills in non-violence and sexual consent, inspire collective advocacy, and so on. This chapter identifies what makes for effective practice in education for violence prevention: what to cover, how to teach, and whom should teach. As it discusses in detail, some forms of face-to-face educati...