Programs that engage men and boys in health promotion and violence prevention are proliferating. Many aim to foster “healthy masculinities”, using education and support to involve men and boys in adopting more positive or gender-equitable forms of selfhood and relating.
This paper offers a critical stocktake of 15 'healthy masculinities' programs in one state in Australia, assessing them against common standards for gender-transformative programming among men and boys.
What role do fathers play in violence prevention and building a non-violent future?
This new white paper by Professor Michael Flood explores fathers' roles in violence prevention. It was launched at the inaugural Fathering Summit on March 14 2024, in Sydney (Australia), hosted by the Fathering Project.
The paper notes that:
1. Positive father involvement is good for children, mothers, families, and fathers themselves
2. Positive father involvement and non-violence go together
Men must call each other out when they see disrespect, because the behaviour we walk past is the behaviour we accept, writes Keith Tracey-Patte.
It’s now four years since the death of Hannah Clarke and her children and 10 years since the murder of Luke Batty. And here we are again. In the last seven days we have seen three separate atrocities and the violent deaths of more women, children and men.
Share our action list on your social media (hashtags #16DaysofActivism #IDEVAW #MaleAlly #MenChallengingSexism) and tell people why you are taking part in our 16 days of action. Email this list to your male friends, relatives and all male allies to help spread the word and increase men’s support for feminist causes.
I am a Black man in prison, and I want to talk about trauma. I want us all to be able to talk about trauma.
In engaging men and boys in preventing domestic and sexual violence, what do we need? In the following, I identify key ways forward, addressing both our overall approach in violence prevention and particular prevention strategies. I focus on primary prevention – on efforts to prevent the initial perpetration of domestic, family and sexual violence.
Apart from what it means in their own lives, men’s exposure to violence, trauma and adversity are key risk factors for men’s self-inflicted harm and their use of violence against others. Equimundo’s report, Making the Connections: Masculinities and Male Trauma, highlights the role masculinities play in boys and men’s ability to cope with their impact.
An ally is a member of a privileged group who acts to challenge or dismantle that same privilege. Ally politics involves members of privileged groups taking action to undermine that same privilege: white people challenging racism, heterosexual people challenging heterosexism and homophobia, and of course, men challenging sexism.
Key elements of male allyship therefore include the following.
There is growing interest in using online media among men and boys to prevent men’s violence against women and girls, prompted by two insights. First, such media may be effective ways to reach and educate large numbers of boys and men. Organisations such as schools and universities involved in violence prevention education are turning increasingly to online media as platforms for education on violence, gender, and healthy relationships, using these to deliver curricula to large cohorts of students and others.
The Men in focus practice guide from Our Watch is designed to support people to address masculinities and work with men in the prevention of men’s violence against women.
