Engaging men in violence prevention: Key resources

Table of contents:

• Introductions to men's and boys' roles in ending men’s violence against women
  • Introductions and accessible pieces
  • Scholarship
  • 'Not all men' - Critiques
• What men can do (practical actions and strategies)
• Reports and overviews
• Introducing men’s violence against women
  • Domestic violence and gender
  • False allegations, MRAs, etc
  • Community attitudes
• Violence prevention
  • Introductions and reviews
  • Violence prevention in particular settings and contexts or among particular groups
  • Fathers
  • War, militarism, conflict, and peacebuilding
  • Sport
  • Issues and strategies in prevention
  • Scholarship on prevention
  • Resistance
  • Consent
  • Pornography
• Violence against men
• Debates, dilemmas, and challenges
  • Accountability
• Concepts and issues
• Links to other sites

Introductions to men's and boys' roles in ending men’s violence against women

Men and boys have a vital role to play in preventing and reducing men's violence against women and girls. Engaging men is now firmly on the violence prevention agenda.

XY includes great introductions to the notions that men have a role to play in preventing and reducing violence against women, that this violence is a 'men's issue', and that violence prevention efforts should include engaging men. See e.g. these short pieces:

• A short article on how violence against women is a men’s issue (Flood, 2009);
• A short piece on men’s positive roles in ending violence against women (Flood);
• A short speech, “Men preventing men’s violence against women: What we know, what we’ve done, and what to do next” (Flood, 2012), and a longer version of this speech (Flood, 2014);
• An accessible report on men’s roles in ending violence against women (Flood, 2010)
• A speech to men on ending violence against women and girls (Kevin Powell, 2009);
• An op-ed arguing that Sexual harassment will be eliminated only when men take part in ending it (Flood, 2010).

The idea that men must take part in efforts to end men's violence against women - that this violence is 'men's problem' - is increasingly common. Here are some recent media commentaries making the case (in reverse chronological order). (For commentaries on the steps or actions men can take, see this XY collection.)

• Chilcott, Mere confession won’t cut it – men must do the hard work of repentance and change, April 4 2021
• 'Stop being boys, be human' - School captain calls on his peers to stand up on sexual assault, Mar 19 2021
• Tyler, Men must be part of the solution to gendered violence, Mar 18 2021
• Harvey, Where are the men, Mar 18 2021
• Ferguson, By breaking the silence about patriarchy, men can help end violence against women, Mar 17 2021
• Chester, Violence and sexual assault are fundamentally a ‘men’s issue’, Mar 16 2021
• Chilcott, It is ‘all men’, to varying degrees - men’s violence against women is a systemic crisis, July 8 2020
• Dembele, Violence is not a victims’ problem, Nov. 25 2019
• Lacroix, Guys we need to talk about the violence against women we enable, May 29 2019
• Barker, It's time men started to take responsibility for their fellow men, May 28 2019
• Bowcott, Male lawyers must confront others who sexually harass - QC, Feb. 16 2019
• Brown, Why we all need to be advocates for gender equality, Oct 29 2018
• Cameron, 'Dear men - Partner of murdered Alberta woman challenges men to change, Oct 24 2018
• Salam, What Men Should Know About #MeToo: It's About Them, Sept 29 2018
• Olle, ‘All men can play a role in making it better’: Brandon Jack says misogynistic culture must be called out, June 27 2018
• Dharmapuri, Feeling Guilty About #MeToo? Three Ways Men Can Do Something About It, 13 April 2018
• Spicer, #MeToo: What Does It Mean To Be A Good Bloke?, March 8 2018
• Tolman, How working with men and boys could stop domestic violence, Feb 23 2018
• Your Fat Friend, What I need from the men I love, Nov 30 2017
• Jensen, Good guys and bad guys, Nov 6 2017
• Singer, Men Are Responsible For Stopping Sexual Assault. Not Women. MEN. Oct 21 2017
• Murphy, Yes, you too, October 17 2017
• Baird, You don't need to be a father to stand up to abusers. You need to believe women, Oct. 12 2017
• Canning, Boys and men must do the right thing - it will save female lives, Aug 15 2017
• McVeigh, Schools tackling sexual violence should focus on boys, MPs told, July 6 2016
• Allard, Rape culture is a man problem. Why aren’t more men speaking up, June 11 2016
• MacDonald, Domestic violence is a male problem, May 11 2016
• Johnston, Men must stand with women to end family violence, Feb 16 2016
• Lay, It's not enough to consider ourselves good men because we don't bash women, Nov 27 2015
• Pease, Is the message getting through to Aussie men?, Nov 25 2015
• Ablett, Another woman killed by a man and we’re talking about why women shouldn’t walk in parks, Mar 23 2015
• Pease, Do nothing, and you are just as guilty of violence, Dec. 17 2014
• Ireland, Tim Watts on why privileged men need to join the domestic violence fight, Oct 20 2014
• Driscoll, Why Sexual Violence And Rape Culture Will Only End if We Get Boys On Board With Feminism, July 21 2014
• Meagher, The Danger of the Monster Myth, April 18 2014
• Kaufman and Barker, We must enlist men and boys in the fight to end violence against women, Nov. 26 2013
• Schnall, Patrick Stewart Calls on Men to End Violence Against Women, Mar 19 2013
• Scaccia, Why Aren't More Men Speaking Out Against Rape, Feb 3 2013
• Blay, What would the world be like if men rejected violence, 2011
• Penberthy, Men must stand up to stop the violence, Nov 20 2011
• Flood, Violence Against Women is a Men's Issue, 2009

There is also scholarship and research on violence prevention work with men. See e.g.;

• This recent book, Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention (2019), available FREE;
• A handy academic overview of efforts to involve men in ending violence against women, which spells out the rationale, key strategies, and impact of this work (Flood, 2011);
• An article on this work, the scholarship which should guide it, and future directions (Jewkes, Flood, and Lang, 2014);
• A critical stocktake of the ‘engaging men’ field (Flood, 2015);
• A short article on building men's commitment to ending sexual violence (Flood, 2011);
• A study among male anti-violence activists (Funk, 2008);
• An overview of men's anti-violence advocacy (Flood, 2003);
• A discussion of strategies and dilemmas in violence prevention education among men (Flood, 2002-2003).

This is only a fraction of the scholarship on men and violence prevention, and XY includes a comprehensive academic bibliography on engaging men and men's anti-violence advocacy.

'Not all men'

Some men (and women) respond to the critique of men's violence against women by emphasising, "Not all men". The following articles discuss and critique this response. Also see the articles above.

• Chester, Violence and sexual assault are fundamentally a ‘men’s issue’, Mar 16 2021
• Dembele, Violence is not a victims’ problem, Nov. 25 2019
• Bateman, ‘Not all men’ is an astonishingly selfish reaction to women’s pain, Dec. 14 2018.
• Ford, The 'not all men' excuse is absurd, June 18 2018
• Jensen, Good guys and bad guys, Nov 6 2017
• Singer, Men Are Responsible For Stopping Sexual Assault. Not Women. MEN. Oct 21 2017
• Murphy, Yes, you too, October 17 2017
• Hemmings, Not all men are guilty of violence and sexism - but all men have a responsibility to stop those crimes, Sept 4 2017
• Jones, Not all men commit abuse against women. But all must condemn it, Aug 9 2016
• Wendig, Not All Men, But Still Too Many Men, May 25 2014

What men can do

What can men do in their everyday lives to prevent and reduce men’s violence against women? How can men speak up and step in the face of violence and violence-supportive behaviours? Reports such as Men Speak Up provide detailed guidance and discussion, while this XY collection features a range of guides and discussions on the action men can take.

Reports and overviews

XY includes a wide range of key reports and overviews on the role of men in addressing violence against women, including the following (in reverse chronological order):

• Supporting Best Practices: Guidelines for Funding Programs That Engage and Mobilize Men & Boys in Violence Prevention (2020);
• Men’s experiences as agents of feminist change, a book chapter on key challenges in men’s efforts to take up profeminism (Flood and Ertel, 2020);
• Gender Equity and Male Engagement: It Only Works When Everyone Plays (ICRW, 2018);
• Men and #MeToo: Mapping men’s responses to anti-violence advocacy (Flood, 2019);
• Working with men: Strategies and challenges in engaging men in building non-violence and gender equality (the slides from a 4-hour workshop on this topic, Flood, 2016);
• Self-learning booklet: Understanding masculinities and violence against women and girls (UNWomen, 2016);
• Working with Men and Boys to End Violence Against Women and Girls: Approaches, Challenges, and Lessons (USAID, 2015);
• Engaging Men and Boys to Address the Practice of Child Marriage (2015);
• Involving men in ending violence against women: Facing challenges and making change (Keynote speech by Michael Flood, White Ribbon Conference, Sydney, May 2013)
• Effectively involving men in preventing violence against women (Garth Baker, 2013);
• Engaging Men & Boys to End Violence Against Women: An Annotated Bibliography of Online Resources (2013);
• Engaging men in sexual assault prevention (Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault, 2013);
• Engaging Men and Boys in Domestic Violence Prevention: Opportunities and promising approaches (Wells et al., 2013);
• A systematic and global review of evaluated interventions engaging boys and young men in the prevention of sexual violence (Barker and Ricardo, 2011);
• Men are Changing: Case study evidence on work with men and boys to promote gender equality and positive masculinities (IPPF, 2010);
• A guide to engaging boys to stop violence, by Save The Children (2010);
• Allies for Change: Together against violence and abuse - Working with Boys and Men: A discussion paper for programmers and practitioners (Save The Children, 2009);
• Engaging Men in Men’s Violence Prevention: Exploring the Tensions, Dilemmas and Possibilities (Pease, 2008);
• Engaging men and boys in changing gender-based inequity in health (2007);
• Engaging Men and Boys to Achieve Gender Equality: How can we build on what we have learned? (2007);
• Engaging Men in Gender Equality: Positive Strategies and Approaches - Overview and Annotated Bibliography (Emily Esplen, 2006);
• Working with Men and Boys to Promote Gender Equality and to End Violence Against Boys and Girls: Methods, strategies, tools and practices (2005);
• The role of men in combating violence against women (Lorentzen, 2005);
• Ending Gender-Based Violence: A call for global action to involve men (2004);
• A book chapter providing an overview of men's anti-violence advocacy, locating this within the wider field of men's work to build gender justice (Flood, 2003).

These include pieces which focus on the practical educational and other strategies which can be used to engage men, such as these:

• Chapters on face-to-face education, social marketing and communications, and other strategies among men and boys, in the book, Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention (2018);
• Working Together with Men: How to create male allies for gender equity in your community (2020);
• An XY collection of guides, manuals, and curricula on engaging men, including the full text of 15 or so key guides or curricula.
• How to do violence prevention education well: key principles of effective practice in ‘respectful relationships’ or ‘healthy relationships’ education, particularly in schools but also in other contexts (report, Flood et al. 2009);
• Engaging Boys and Men in Gender Transformation: The Group Education Manual (2008);
• Engaging men as social justice allies in ending violence: evidence for a social norms approach (Fabiano et al., 2004);
• Engaging men: Strategies and dilemmas in violence prevention education among men (an article, Flood, 2005-06);
• A collection of great videos about men and masculinities, men and feminism, violence prevention, and so on, on YouTube and elsewhere;

The work of engaging men has been around for a while, and XY includes some earlier speeches and articles too, e.g.;

• How to build and sustain a healthy men's anti-rape group (Marx, 1987).
• Exploring the roots of sexual violence (Rus Funk, 2006);
• Building a movement of men working to end violence against women (Michael Kaufman, 2001);
• The seven Ps of men’s violence (Michael Kaufman, 1999);
• Taking action for a rape-free culture (Men Can Stop Rape, 1996);
• Activism 101 (Flood, 1995);
• Men, masculinity and violence: A speech (Michael Flood, 1993);
• The White Ribbon Campaign: What it means and why you should be involved (Michael Flood, 1993);
• Me(n) in the movement (Basil Elias);
• Men take a role in eliminating violence against women (Shravanti Reddy);
• Healing body, mind and spirit – it’s about time we took a stand (Mick Dodson).

Introducing men’s violence against women

People new to the area of men’s violence against women can find short overviews and introductions, including pieces such as;

• Explaining, and preventing, intimate partner violence (A speech, Flood, 2007);
• Domestic violence (a short encyclopedia entry, Flood, 2003);
• A four-page handout with key insights of feminist scholarship on violence against women (Flood, 2002).
• Recommended short introductions to violence against women (a bibliography)

If you want more detailed, scholarly accounts of men’s violence against women, or domestic or partner violence, or sexual violence, look to XY’s collections. These include:

• Key readings and reports on men's violence against women;
• Key readings and reports on preventing violence against women;
• A lengthy review of the determinants of men’s intimate partner violence against women (Flood, 2007);
• A collection of academic reviews on sexual harassment.

Domestic violence and gender

There are debates and controversies in this work. One key debate is over gender and domestic violence: is women's domestic violence against men is as common as men's domestic violence against women? XY includes valuable resources here, including:

• A collection of key academic articles on domestic violence and gender, documenting that the claim of gender symmetry in domestic violence is not supported by the evidence;
• A detailed discussion of gender contrasts in women’s and men’s experiences of domestic violence victimisation and perpetration (Seminar, Flood, 2012);
• A short Australian piece debunking claims of gender symmetry (Flood, 2006);
• A collection of materials on supporting and working with male victims of domestic and family violence.

False allegations, MRAs, etc.

Men’s rights advocates (MRAs), and community members more widely, claim that women often make false allegations of domestic violence or child abuse. But, this is not true, as this fact sheet spells out.

More widely, men's rights and father's rights advocates have attacked efforts to address men's violence against women. XY includes responses to typical anti-feminist claims, including this short piece (Flood, 2006), an article on fathers' rights groups and their efforts to undermine work to address violence against women, and a wide range of other materials.

Community attitudes

XY also includes valuable materials on community attitudes towards domestic / family violence or violence against women.

Violence prevention

Introductions and reviews

XY includes excellent resources on the violence prevention field in general. These include two XY collections featuring full text publications. The first focuses on short, accessible introductions to violence prevention, primary prevention, and so on. The second focuses on major, systematic reviews of prevention practice. (Also see the further references listed on these pages.) XY also includes comprehensive bibliographies of various violence prevention strategies and issues.

Violence prevention in particular settings and contexts or among particular groups

XY includes materials focused on violence prevention in particular settings and contexts or among particular groups of men and boys, including e.g.:

• A chapter on working with diverse populations of men and boys (Chapter 11), available free in the book Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention (2018);
• Key issues in working with men from immigrant and refugee communities in preventing violence against women (White Ribbon Australia report, 2016);
• Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and boys in violence prevention (Report, 2017);
• An intersectional approach to engaging men (Flood, Conference paper, 2016).
• Engaging Men from Diverse Backgrounds in Preventing Men’s Violence Against Women (Flood, Conference paper, 2013)

Other reports include:

• Engaging men and boys in refugee settings to address sexual and gender-based violence (Workshop report, 2008);
• Among men who are the clients of sex workers / prostitutes;
• Lessons for the South Asian context in working with men to end gender-based violence (2003);
• Papua New Guinea: a report on the role of men and masculinities in PNG in addressing gender-based violence (2007).

Also see this bibliography on violence prevention in Indigenous, immigrant and refugee, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

Fathers

Fathers can play vital roles in preventing violence against women, both through their parenting of children and their relations with children’s mothers and other carers. XY includes materials on:

• Fathers (and mothers) raising non-violent and gender-equitable sons;
• A bibliography on fathers' perpetration of violence and abuse, and another bibliography on working with fathers to reduce or prevent violence.

Workplaces

See e.g.:

• The role of men in workplaces in preventing men’s violence against women (Holmes and Flood, report, 2013);
• Bibliography: Violence prevention in workplaces

War, militarism, conflict, and peacebuilding

Reports on engaging men in violence prevention, or addressing masculinities and violence, in the contexts of war, militarism, and conflict include:

• Masculinity and Civil Wars in Africa: New Approaches to Overcoming Sexual Violence in War;
• Among boys and men in conflict and other emergency-response settings: a workshop module;
• Masculinities, conflict & peacebuilding (Hannah Wright, Saferworld, 2014).

Sport

One important context for violence prevention work is sport. XY includes, for example, a short piece on sport, athletes, and violence against women, and a longer review on Building Cultures of Respect and Non-Violence: A Review of Literature Concerning Adult Learning and Violence Prevention Programs with Men (2008).

Issues and strategies in prevention

You will find materials focused on particular strategies of or issues in violence prevention, including e.g.:

• A framework for policy change on men and the prevention of gender-based violence (2010);
• Mobilising men to challenge sexual and gender-based violence, including in institutional settings;
• The privileges received by male anti-violence educators;
• Evaluating work to engage men, in a report by White Ribbon Canada.

On bystander intervention, see:

• Bystander intervention: an XY collection;
• Bystander approaches in the workplace, including to sexual harassment (McDonald and Flood 2012)

Scholarship on prevention

The Men's Bibliography includes comprehensive bibliographies focused on particular strategies for prevention, including e.g. bystander education, social marketing, self-defence and rape resistance, theatre, and community mobilisation, and focused on particular settings or communities, including campuses and universities, sports, the military, faith communities, fathers, and Indigenous, immigrant and refugee, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

Resistance

Any effort to engage men and boys in violence prevention will face some degree of resistance from participants and others. You will find valuable accounts of resistance, and how to lessen or prevent it, here. Also see Chapter 10 of Flood's book.

Consent

The prevention of sexual violence includes work encouraging norms and practices of consent, and XY includes a substantial collection on consent, including toolkits, discussions, and videos.

Pornography

Pornography is widely identified as a key contributor to men's and boys' sexual violence against women and girls. This XY collection on pornography, men, and boys covers the evidence on the links between pornography and sexual violence, how to engage men and boys in resisting pornography, and more.

Violence against men

XY includes a wide range of materials on violence against men and boys. These include:

• An XY collection on working with adult male victims of domestic violence;
• This useful, short overview, When men are the victims of violence (Encyclopedia entry, Flood, 2007);
• A short op-ed on the high levels of male-male violence in and outside pubs and clubs (Flood, 2004);
• A guidance note for security sector institutions on preventing and responding to sexual and domestic violence against men;
• Sexual abuse of men and boys (Wildwood, 1995);
• Etc.

Debates, dilemmas, and challenges

There are debates over men's involvement in preventing men's violence against women. Should this work emphasise how men will benefit? How should this work be accountable to women? And so on.

Accountability

One key issue is accountability. What is this, and how and to whom should this work be accountable? XY includes pieces here by Ben Atherton-Zeman, Kristy Macomber (2014), a very early statement by Men Against Pornography (1990s), and others. Also see:

• A critical stocktake of the ‘engaging men’ field (journal article, Flood, 2015);
• Debates between Bob Pease and Michael Flood.
• The Engaging Men through Accountable Practice (EMAP) intervention (International Rescue Committee, 2013);
• MenEngage's accountability standards and guidelines and training toolkit.
• Flood's book, Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention (2019), pp. 92-96.
• This journal article (2019) on men's anti-violence work, exploring the dilemma of which feminisms this work should support.

What should we do when profeminist men or violence prevention advocates themselves are alleged to have perpetrated violence or abuse? This piece explores the issues.

Concepts and issues

You can explore important concepts in this work and dimensions of this work, including e.g.

• Discussions of #MeToo;
• Discussions of the impact of domestic and family violence on young people and their relationships (2008);
• Rape culture and patriarchy, and how they hurt men (Ashley);
• Men’s experience as the victims of violence (Flood,  encyclopedia entry, 2007);
• Discussions of sexual consent (an XY collection), and e.g. Julian Real’s discussion what it means in the context of a sexist culture;
• Gender and gun violence: how masculinity is tied to gun use;
• Gender, war and militarism, and male disadvantage.

Links to other sites

XY also includes links to other relevant sites (although some links need updating), including e.g.

• Men's anti-violence projects and organisations
• Violence and violence prevention sites.