Violence
Attitudes towards men’s violence against women shape both the perpetration of violence against women and responses to this violence by the victim and others around her. For these reasons, attitudes are the target of violence prevention campaigns. In order to improve understanding of the determinants of violence against women and to aid the development of violence prevention efforts, we review the factors which shape attitudes towards violence against women.
In violence prevention, we must move beyond simplistic notions of “white men saving brown women from brown men”. Women from CALD and indigenous communities are not necessarily hapless victims, and nor are immigrant and refugee men any more sexist or violent than their English counterparts. In any context – rich or poor, Anglo or otherwise, newly arrived or fifth-generation – work with men must recognise the intersections of race, class, and sexuality which shape men’s lives.
In efforts to prevent men’s violence against women, there is a growing emphasis on the need to engage men. Men are becoming involved as participants in education programs, audiences for social marketing, activists and advocates, community leaders, and policy makers. First then, what does this ‘engaging men’ field look like? Second, what are its achievements and what are its limitations or dangers? This field is one instance of a wider ‘turn to men’ in gender politics, an increasing emphasis on the roles that men can play in building gender equality.
Efforts to engage men in preventing men’s violence against women are gaining momentum around the world. Men are becoming involved as participants in education programs, audiences for social marketing, activists and advocates, community leaders, and policy makers. First then, what do we know about effective practice in engaging men in violence prevention? What works, and what doesn’t? Second, what are the challenges and controversies of this work?
The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) "2014 Current Practices and Challenges: Engaging Men on Campus" provides insight into how 2014 OVW Campus Program grantees fostered men as allies in the prevention of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. The assessment also provides effective theories and comprehensive steps to engage men in prevention.
If you are interested in reading the assessment, you can download it at:
http://changingourcampus.org/application/files/6714/5927/8564/2014-Men-…
What are the impacts of pornography exposure or consumption among children and young people? And what can be done about it? These questions are the focus of an Australian Government enquiry, "Harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the Internet". In the submission here, Dr Michael Flood summarises the research evidence and outlines key strategies for preventing and limiting harm.
The EMERGE (Engendering Men: Evidence on Routes to Gender Equality) project has produced a new policy briefing which makes the case for re-framing policy on gender equality in order to more productively factor in men and boys, and suggests actions and approaches that policy makers can take to do this. The briefing, along with an accompanying practice brief and a conceptual framing paper, is available here.