Michael Flood

Citation: Flood, M. (2025). Online violence prevention education for students. Queensland University of Technology, unpublished.

Note that these notes also may be downloaded in PDF here.

This new book:

• Explores young men’s online lives in the context of growing concerns about gender-based digital harms
• Offers nuanced insight into the complexities and tensions of young men’s positive and negative experiences online
• Proposes a framework for developing young men’s critical digital dispositions for gender-just online engagement

By Professor Amanda Keddie and Professor Michael Flood

Summary: This keynote address explores:

In the last two years, men’s health approaches have had growing visibility in the violence prevention field. Some men’s health advocates have argued for the value of a “men’s health lens” on domestic violence.

Men’s health approaches have both strengths and weaknesses in engaging men and boys in the prevention of domestic and sexual violence.

What actions are needed to drive the engagement of men and boys in combating online gender-based violence? In these notes prepared for a UN Women event in Seoul, Korea, Professor Flood offers recommendations for programming and research to drive the engagement of men and boys in reducing and preventing online gender-based violence

Programming:

The following describes initiatives and strategies that can be adopted by Government that will build capacity in Australia to effectively engage men and boys in violence prevention. Note that these initiatives are focused on primary prevention rather than initiatives aimed at men and boys at risk of using violence (secondary prevention / intervention) or already using violence (tertiary prevention / intervention).

These notes were prepared by Professor Michael Flood in September 2021, to guide a largescale organisation in Australia in its development of bystander education to prevent and reduce workplace sexual harassment.

General principles for effective education

There are some general principles for effective education that can be applied to education and training strategies focused on bystander intervention in sexual harassment. Such strategies are more likely to generate change if they:

To what extent do people in Australia have anti-feminist attitudes? A number of Australian surveys support the point that significant proportions of the population endorse anti-feminist beliefs that men are treated unfairly or discriminated against.

There is consistent evidence that stereotypical masculine attitudes and norms shape men’s and boys’ behaviour in harmful ways. 

• Men who endorse traditional definitions of manhood are more likely to suffer harm to themselves.
• Men who endorse traditional definitions of manhood are more likely to do harm to others.

The following notes summarise the evidence of associations between men’s conformity to stereotypical masculine norms and a range of outcomes, including:

ASK A MATE is a new app aimed at boys and young men and intended to provide sound, evidence-based advice on topics including relationships, gender, consent, domestic and sexual violence, delivered by high-profile positive male role models who young men are willing to listen to.

ASK A MATE has been created by Beyond DV, an Australian charity focused on shaping a society free from domestic violence.