Engaging Men and Boys

The violence against women movement started when women organized to address men’s violence against women. The early social change efforts engaged women as individuals who had the power to change the conditions in which violence against women existed.

While it is clear that violence against women impacts the lives, well-being, and safety of women and girls, this issue is not only of concern to women. Since most people who commit violence against women are men, men must also be engaged and participate in activities to prevent sexual violence.

Early efforts for men’s involvement in violence against women prevention have been work in batterer intervention projects such as EMERGE in Boston, RAVEN in St. Louis and MOVE in San Francisco. Other organizations focussed on providing education about male violence.

Check out this article on Eight Ways Men and Boys are Helping to End Gender-Based Violence

Research

• Complied research articles can be found here
• Working with Men to Prevent Violence Against Women- An Overview, Part One.pdf
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  From VAWnet

• Working with Men to Prevent Violence Against Women- Program Modalities and Formats, Part Two.pdf
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  From VAWnet

• WHO 2007 Evidence Review Engaging Men Boys.pdf
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• WCSAP 2011 Engaging Men Guide.pdf
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  from the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs

• Wantland 2008 Our Brotherhood.pdf
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  “Building our Brotherhood and Your Sister: Building Anti-Rape Community in the Fraternity” by Ross Wantland.

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

• 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 commitmen to ending sexual violence (Flood, 2011);
• An overview of men’s anti-violence advocacy (Flood, 2003);
• A comprehensive academic bibliography on engaging men and men’s anti-violence advocacy.

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

• 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)

A tour of the wide range of resources on engaging men in violence prevention on the website XY.
http://www.xyonline.net/content/violence-walking-tour-some-xy%E2%80%99s-content

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

• Engaging men and boys in refugee settings to address sexual and gender-based violence;
• Among boys and men in conflict and other emergency-response settings: a workshop module;
• Among men who are the clients of sex workers / prostitutes;
• Masculinity and Civil Wars in Africa: New Approaches to Overcoming Sexual Violence in War;
• Lessons for the South Asian context in working with men to end gender-based violence(2003);
• Engaging men from culturally and linguistically diverse (ethnic minority) backgrounds(Flood, Conference paper, 2013);
• An intersectional approach to engaging men (Flood, Conference paper, 2016);
• Workplaces: The role of men in workplaces in preventing men’s violence against women (Holmes and Flood, report, 2013).
• Papua New Guinea: a report on the role of men and masculinities in PNG in addressing gender-based violence (2007).

XY includes a wide range of key reports and overviews on the role of men in addressing violence against women, including:

• Men are Changing: Case study evidence on work with men and boys to promote gender equality and positive masculinities (IPPF, 2010);
• 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)
• 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)
• A systematic and global review of evaluated interventions engaging boys and young men in the prevention of sexual violence (Barker and Ricardo, 2011)
• A report by Lorentzen (2012);
• Engaging Men and Boys in Domestic Violence Prevention: Opportunities and promising approaches (Wells et al., 2013)
• 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 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);
• A guide to engaging boys to stop violence, by Save The Children (2010);
• Working with Men and Boys to Promote Gender Equality and to End Violence Against Boys and Girls: Methods, strategies, tools and practices (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)

 

Comprehensive Campaigns for men/boys in the U.S.

• A Call to Men
• Coaching Boys into Men is a project of the Futures Without Violence . Coaching Boys Into Men Playbook is designed for coaches to incorporate anti-violence messages into coaching activities.
• Delaware Men’s Education Network (M.E.N): Began meeting in April 2011 to involve men in promoting healthy relationships. It’s a project of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Founding Fathers by Futures Without Violence See Major Article
• Healthy Masculinity Action Project (HMAP): This is a two-year project that aims to spread healthy, non-violent masculinity across the U.S. by developing new male leadership that demonstrates strength without violence.
• Iowa Men’s Action Network
• Men Can Stop Rape See Major Article: Strength Campaign
• Men’s Leadership Project
• Men’s Resource Center for Change
• Men Stopping Violence
• Men Against Sexual Violence (Pennsylvania)
• The Men’s Story Project: Is a public performance and community dialogue project that explores social ideas about masculinity and manhood. For more information, listen to CALCASA’s podcast on The Men’s Story Project.
• MyStrength Campaign or MiFuerza Campaign from CALCASA. See Major Article: Strength Campaign
• Minnesota Men’s Action Network
• Milwaukee Healthy Manhood Project
• One in Four See Major Article: One in Four
• One Man Can See Major Article: One Man Can
• Real Men. Real Respect for Women See Major Article Real Men. Real Respect for Women.
• White Ribbon Campaign
• North American Men Engage Network (NAMEN) – the //NAMEN News//

 

XY Resources on Engaging Men

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 and that violence prevention efforts should include engaging men. See e.g.;

• 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)
• 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).

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

• An XY collection of guides and manuals on engaging men, including the full text of 15 or so key guides.
• 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);
• How to build and sustain a healthy men’s anti-rape group (Marx, 1987).

International Efforts with a Focus on Men/Boys
Men Engage: Is an alliance of worldwide NGOs and UN agencies that work to engage men and boys in the goal of achieving gender equality. One of the organization’s key issues is ending gender-based violence.

 

Books/Publications

• ICRW and Instituto Promundo: Engaging Men and Boys to Achieve Gender Equality: How Can We Build on What We Have Learned?
• Rus Funk, Reaching Men: Strategies for Preventing Sexism and Violence
• Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault, report by Mary Stathopoulos: Engaging Men in Sexual Assault Prevention
• API Institute on Domestic Violence, Engaging Asian Men: Divesting from gender violence; investing in gender equality. This report considers how engagement applies within the cultural contexts of Asian men and their communities. Because sociocultural differences influence how patriarchy is enforced, how masculinity is defined, and how women’s self-determination is expressed or controlled, these factors also influence what ‘engaging men’ means. The Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence convened a roundtable of advocates and activists who address domestic and sexual violence, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and gender equality to examine some of the complexities of analysis, strategy and community.

From the NSVRC Special Collection Men and Boys: Preventing Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence

Articles about Traditional Masculinities:

• The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men’s Violence , by Michael Kaufman from “Beyond Patriarchy: Essays on Pleasure, Power, and Change.”
• The Search for Masculinity, from PBS
• Issue Brief: Men and Boys by Independent Television Service
• Parental Influence on Children’s Socialization to Gender Roles by Susan D. Witt

Articles about the Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender:

• Masculinities, Power, and Change by Jorgen Lorentzen for the Nordic Journal for Masculinity Studies
• The Masculinity Conversations: An Interview with Dr. Rachel Griffen on Masculinity and Race by Patrick McGann for Men Can Stop Rape
• Masculinity at the Intersections: An exploration of hegemony, oppression, performance and self-authorship by Vern Koblassa and Tracy L Davis
• Engaging Boys to Stop Violence: A step-by-step guide for initiating social change by Laxman Belbase, Turid Heiberg & Gemma Pillars
• The Seven P’s of Men’s Violence by Michael Kaufman

Understanding the benefits of Working with Men and Boys:

• Involving Men in Efforts to End Violence Against Women by Michael Flood in Men and Masculinities
• Fact Sheet 2: The Positive Roles that Men Can Play from the White Ribbon Campaign
• Fact Sheet 4: What Can Men Do? from the White Ribbon Campaign
• 10 Things Men Can Do to End Men’s Violence Against Women by A Call to Men
• Ending Men’s Violence Against Women by Ted Bunch for A Call to Men
• Let’s Stop Violence Before it Starts: Using primary prevention strategies to engage communities and change the world (workshop notes)
• Issue Brief: Engaging Men and Boys to Reduce and Prevent Gender-Based Violence by Todd Minerson, Humberto Carolo, Tuval Dinner, and Clay Jones of The White Ribbon Campaign-Canada for Status of Women Canada
• Engaging Boys and Men in Gender Transformation: The Group Education Manual
• Ending Gender-Based Violence: A call for global action to involve men by Harry Ferguson, Jeff Hearn, Oystein Gullvag Holter, Lars Jalmert, Michael Kimmel, James Lang an Robert Morrell, published by the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation, Sida

Prevention Articles about Engaging Men:

• Guide to Engaging Men and Boys in Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls by the Men’s Nonviolence Project of the Texas Council on Family Violence
• Policy approaches to engaging men and boys in achieving gender equality and health equity by the World Health Organization
• Organizing to End Violence Against Women: Putting Principles into Practice by Dick Bathrick, Ulester Douglas, Khaatim S. El, Phyllis Alesia Perry, and Malkia S. White
• Regional capacity building workshop on men, caring and fatherhood: Engaging men as partners in healthier families by Save the Children Sweden, UNIFEM South Asia,and Instituto PROMUNDO Brazil
• Organizing Men to Stop Men’s Violence Against Women: A Possible Five-Step Plan by Ben Atherton-Zeman

Addressing Challenges and Barriers to Working with Men and Boys:

• Partners in Social Change Newsletter: Engaging Men by Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (WCSAP), Sexual Assault Prevention Resource Center
• Outside in: A Man in the Movement by Richard Orton
• Aspiring Social Justice Ally Identity Development: A Conceptual Model by Keith E. Edwards

Articles about Men, Feminism, and Anti-Violence Movements:

• Is Feminism Men’s Work Too? by Mandy Van Deven. This article addresses the importance of developing a generation of pro-feminist men
• Engaging Men in Women’s Issues: from Critical Half (a publication of Women for Women International) addresses how men can help establishing gender equality in societies
• Men Speak Up: A Toolkit for Action in Men’s Daily Lives by Michael Flood for the White Ribbon Campaign outlines goals for men’s action
• 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 behaviors? 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.
• Where Men Stand: Men’s Roles in Ending Violence Against Women by Michael Flood for the White Ribbon Campaign
• Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality Summary Report Outlines themes from a discussion that took place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• Tough Talk: What Boys Need to Know about Relationship Abuse: from the Liz Claiborne “Love is Not Abuse” campaign

Understanding the Primary Prevention approach to engaging boys and men:

• Primary Prevention by Men Can Stop Rape
• Theories that shape our work by Men Can Stop Rape
• Factors Associated with a Man’s Risk for Abusing His Partner by the CDC, adapted from the World Report on Violence and Health of the WHO
• Factors Associated with Men Committing Rape by the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, adapted from Guidelines for Medico-legal Care for Victims of Sexual Violence of the WHO
• Moving Upstream, Volume 7, Issues 1 & 2 by Brad Perry and Robert Franklin for the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance (now Community Solutions to Sexual and Domestic Violence: Virginia)

Relational level prevention and social change: the bystander approach:

• Where Do You Stand? Campaign Guide by Men Can Stop Rape
• Penn State: The Mother of All Teachable Moments for the Bystander Approach by Jackson Katz for the NSVRC
• Penn State and the bystander approach: Laying bare the dynamics of male peer culture by Jackson Katz for the NSVRC
• Moving Beyond Penn State: Bystander training as leadership training by Jackson Katz for the NSVRC

Community change: Prevention work in schools, sports programs, and social communities

• She Fears You: Teaching College Men to End Rape by Keith E. Edwards and Troy Headrick
• Tips for Partnering with Men’s Organizations by the NSVRC
• Mobilizing Men in Practice: Challenging sexual and gender-based violence in institutions by Alan Greig with Jerker Edstrom for the Institute of Development Studies
• Engaging Men and Boys in grassroots organizations, webinar with Tony Porter

Societal Change: Changing social norms

• The Social Norms Approach to Violence Prevention by Alan D. Berkowitz, Family Violence Prevention Fund
• Men speak out about sexist coverage of rape: A call to action (MP3) PreventConnect

Accountability Work With Men:

• Guidelines for Challenging Sexism and Male Supremacy by Paul Kivel
• Going to Places that Scare Me: Personal Reflections on Challenging Male Supremacy, by Chris Crass
• From Violence to Coercive Control: Renaming Men’s Abuse of Women by Stephen Fisher
• Honoring Women Worldwide Framework
• Experiments in Transformative Justice: The Challenging Male Supremacy by RJ Maccani, Gaurav Jashnani and Alan Grieg
• The Sweet Tea Southern Queer Men’s Collective Statement by Yolo Akili, Franklin Abbott, Will Cordery, Lamont Sims, Craig Washington, Charles Stephens, Tim’m West, and Michael J. Brewer
• We Can Do Better: “Power and Control” and “Accountability” Wheels for Male Aspiring Allies by Ben Atherton-Zeman

 

XY Resources

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).

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:

• A collection of 14 reports, book chapters, and key discussions;
• A lengthy review of the determinants of men’s intimate partner violence against women(Flood, 2007)

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 or as serious 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).

False allegations: 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.

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.

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);
• Bystander approaches in the workplace, including to sexual harassment (McDonald and Flood 2012);
• Mobilising men to challenge sexual and gender-based violence, including in institutional settings
• Evaluating work to engage men, in a report by White Ribbon Canada

 

DVDs and Videos

• Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes by Byron Hurt
• Tough Guise by Jackson Katz
• Young Asianz Rising!

Article/video from PBS: The Search for Masculinity

Consultants, Training and Speakers

• Alan Berkowitz Link
• Rus Funk Link
• Jackson Katz Link
• Paul Kivel Link

 

Bibliographies and Toolkits

• Jane Doe Inc.’s Reimagine Manhood: Teaching and Action Guide
• Family Violence Prevention Fund’s “Tookit for Working with Men and Boys“
• Michael Flood’s “Men’s Bibliography Online“
• VAWnet Men in the Movement to End Violence Against Women: Organizations and Programs lists additional programs.
• In Her Shoes, a campaign from the Washington State Coalition Against DV
• Men’s Nonviolence Project’s “Guide to Engaging Men and Boys in Preventing Violence Against Women & Girls“