This literature review was commissioned by Deloittes as part of its stocktake of sexual violence prevention in Australia. A condensed and revised version of this literature review was published as an Appendix in: Deloittes and M. Flood. (2020) Stocktake of Primary Prevention Initiatives in Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment. Sydney: Deloittes.
Articles
Long before Covid-19 forced an artificial isolation on me, loneliness has been my companion. I became aware of this loneliness when surrounded by the men I had spent time with during the last thirty years. The irony of this did not go unnoticed – being lonely in a crowd is part self-choice, part self-defence. I kept telling myself that I chose this path of solitude but if truth be told, it chose me. And until I surrendered to it, the fear of being isolated was worse than the actual reality.
This new report focuses on the need to make men visible as a target of public policy that aims to prevent and eradicate violence against women and to develop projects that promote alternative non-violent masculinities.
The study "International Comparison of Politics on Masculinities" has been promoted and funded by the Government Delegation Against Gender Violence and carried out by the Cepaim Foundation.
What are the links between guns, violence, and masculinity? This XY collection brings together items highlighting how gun violence is structured in powerful ways by traditional, patriarchal masculinities. Also see XY's complementary collections on "Guns and violence" and on "Mass shootings and masculinity".
(a) Shorter pieces on guns, men, and masculinities
On 22 and 23 October 2022, Male Allies Challenging Sexism (MACS) is hosting what it believes to be the first face-to-face pro-feminist men’s conference in the UK for 30 years. The event in Cardiff will feature an international line-up of pro-feminist speakers, and all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to women’s organisations.
Why are women always tasked with ending men’s violence? Why are women both burdened with suffering under it and with solving it? Why do we never ask men to change their behaviour or to step up to counter misogyny and harm? How Men Can Help: A Guide To Undoing Harm and Being A Better Ally, by award-winning journalist and campaigner Sophie Gallagher provides the much-needed answers to these urgent questions.
I want to start with the rationale for this work. Why are we trying to promote healthy masculinities? What is the problem?
To answer that, I have to start with gender.
Gender means…
I’m using the term ‘gender’ here for the patterns of men’s and women’s lives, boys’ and girls’ lives.
Gender means: the meanings we give to being male and female, and the social organisation of men’s and women’s lives.
"the horrific enactments of violence discussed here are the work of men. Whether masculinity is something we should consider salvageable or bankrupt ought to inform our scholarship and our politics. And on these issues... Masculinity is the malignant tissue connecting these seemingly disparate events. It’s time to man down."
Men have a vital role to play in contributing to the prevention and reduction of sexual harassment, in workplaces and elsewhere. Although men’s involvement is often constrained by poor understanding of sexual harassment and barriers preventing their advocacy, there are effective ways to invite them in to the work of sexual harassment prevention, and practical actions men can take to make change.
I was asked, as a man, to explain “mansplaining”. That is an assignment fraught with pitfalls.