Activism & Politics

Who are pro-feminist men? What do they believe? How do men come to be pro-feminist? Does being pro-feminist mean that you are anti-male? Find answers to these and many more questions in this handy guide.

Feminism’s achievements regarding violence against women are a key target for the fathers’ rights movement. This article provides an overview of the impact of the fathers’ rights movement on men’s violence against women. It documents the ways in which fathers’ rights groups in Australia have influenced changes in family law, which privilege parental contact over safety, particularly through moves toward a presumption of children’s joint residence. They have attempted to discredit female victims of violence, to wind back the legal protections available to victims and the sanctions imposed on perpetrators, and to undermine services for the victims of men’s violence.

Male supremacist groups (“Father’s Rights”) have caused unspeakable harm to our country and to our children by encouraging abusive fathers, often with little past involvement with their children, to seek custody as a tactic to pressure a mother to return or to punish her for leaving. The following call for support comes from the US-based National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS).

For further discussions of 'fathers' rights' groups, see some of the pieces in XY's collection on 'men's and fathers' rights'.

The Australian Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) invites suitably qualified organisations to tender for the provision of a Gender Panel.
The Australian Government Office for Women in FaHCSIA plays a key role in advancing the status of women through research, policy advice, consultation and program administration across the government.

NORMA - Nordic Journal for Masculinity Studies
Special issue, Fall 2010:
Men, Resistance and Political Radicalization
Theme editors: Ann-Dorte Christensen & Sune Qvotrup Jensen, Aalborg University

From boxer Mike Tyson to the late superstar Michael Jackson. From O. J. Simpson to more recently disgraced serial philanderer Tiger Woods, everywhere you look, it seems that some Black man somewhere is under the unrelenting public microscope for some sort of personal transgression. Moreover, these personal missteps seem to be magnified by an ever carnal, voyeuristic media all too eager to propagate long held stereotypes of men of color, in particular, black men as deviant, psychotic menaces to the larger society.

... 5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!

This report offers a comprehensive overview of best practice in violence prevention education in schools, identifying five principles of best practice. It maps promising programs around Australia and internationally. And it offers directions for advancing the field. The report is relevant beyond this, however, offering indicators of effective practice in violence prevention education which are relevant for a variety of settings and populations.

Some sections of the report focus in particular on issues of interest for those working with men and boys in violence prevention, such as the teaching methods to use and the content to address (pp. 36-43), whether to have mixed-sex or single-sex classes (pp. 47-50), whether curricula should be delivered by teachers or community educators or peers (pp. 52-53), and whether the sex of the educator makes a difference (pp. 53-54).

Contemporary campaigns and programs addressing men’s violence against women are under sustained attack. They are subject to repeated, hostile criticism by anti-feminist men and men’s networks. Any organisation which publicly addresses violence against women finds itself under a barrage of e-mails and letters, while any forum which sympathetically addresses the issue is swamped by hostile responses. Here, I address the claims which are the standard fare of anti-feminist men’s attacks on domestic violence efforts.

Sonke Gender Justice Network and the MenEngage Alliance recently held a weeklong symposium in Johannesburg Oct 5-9th to profile research, programmes and policies related to efforts to engage men and boys in achieving gender equality and to promote greater dialogue and shared action between women's rights organizations and organizations working with men and boys for gender equality.