Abstract:
Most men do not sexually assault women. But for the men who do, masculine norms of sexism and sexual entitlement are an important influence on their use of sexual violence. To prevent and reduce sexual violence, a key task is shifting these norms and replacing them with equitable and respectful forms of masculinity and masculine sexuality. Three consistent predictors of men’s perpetration of sexual violence are violence-supportive and hostile masculine attitudes, sexist and violence-supportive peers, and wider gender-inequitable norms and relations. We must work to undermine each of these. It is vital to engage men and boys in violence prevention, and two tasks are particularly important. First, prevention efforts must teach boys and men both why consent is important and how to practice it. Second, they must challenge common social norms of masculinity and masculine sexuality. Prevention efforts among men and boys must promote non-violent, ethical alternatives to the forms of masculinity and masculine sexuality that sustain sexual violence.
Citation:
Flood, M. (2024). To Prevent and Reduce Men’s Sexual Violence Against Women, We Must Challenge Common Social Norms of Masculinity and Masculine Sexuality. In Laker, J., & Boas, E. (Eds.), Advancing Sexual Consent and Agential Practices in Higher Education: Toward a New Community of Practice (pp. 199-210). Routledge.
To prevent and reduce sexual violence, we must shift masculine norms of sexism and sexual entitlement and encourage equitable and respectful forms of masculinity and masculine sexuality.
Engaging men and preventing perpetration
The last two decades has seen an increasing emphasis in the violence prevention field on the need to engage men and boys in prevention (Flood, 2011). This is evident in the growth of prevention programs aimed specifically at boys and men, increasing emphases on the value of this strategy in government plans of action, and expanding scholarship on the efficacy of this work (Flood, 2019).
There are also signs in violence prevention fields of an increasing emphasis on the need to address perpetration (Flood & Dembele, 2021). This is visible in the growing adoption of legal and institutional standards of affirmative consent (in which individuals must seek explicit and ongoing consent to engage in sexual interaction). It is also visible in growing calls in the community to emphasise preventing perpetration. Think, for example, of the marches and rallies in which people’s placards urge a move from ‘Teach: Don’t get raped’ to ‘Teach: Don’t rape’ and from ‘Protect your daughters’ to ‘Educate your sons’.
Addressing the drivers of men’s perpetration
To prevent and reduce men’s perpetration of sexual violence, we must address its drivers. What are the key risk factors for or determinants of perpetration of sexual violence among men? There is now a wealth of scholarship on this, including a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (Jewkes, 2012; Mannell et al., 2022; O’Connor et al., 2021; Spencer et al., 2022; Tharp et al., 2012).
There are three consistent predictors of men’s perpetration of sexual violence that prevention efforts on campuses and elsewhere should address: violence-supportive and hostile masculine attitudes, sexist and violence-supportive peers, and wider gender-inequitable norms and relations.
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