GET TO WORK:How to Work

with Men & Boys to Prevent Violence

• Gender norms and behaviours are taught and learned

• The options available to men and women vary from society to society and as gender norms change over time

Understand the Context

Making the Case to Men & Boys

• Violence hurts your daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, husbands, brothers, sons, and uncles

• Violence hurts you too - many boys and men have suffered violence and sexual abuse

• Be part of the solution - you can help break the silence on this issue

Making the Case to Men & Boys (cont.)

• Fighting violence solves other societal problems

• Preventing violence saves money

• Violence is about the misuse of power and control - addressing it benefits everyone

Methods for Change

• Develop a Comprehensive Response

– gender-based violence is entrenched at all levels of society

– violence prevention efforts will be successful when initiatives at different levels are coordinated

– work with men and boys on a personal level as well as in the broader context

Methods for Change (cont.)

• Work with Communities as Partners

– men and boys in different communities have experiences with violence -- they also have different positive role models

– draw on these experiences to engage men and boys as active partners in change

Methods for Change (cont.)

• Work with Men and Boys in Culturally Relevant Ways

– differences in age, ethnicity, race, immigration status, sexuality, economic status, education, etc. produce different cultures

– to succeed, violence prevention efforts must incorporate messages, strategies and models that make sense in specific cultural contexts

Men & Boys as Agents of Change

Men and Boys• They can be part

of the solution

Men & Boys as Agents of Change

• Dispel the “boys will be boys” perspective

• Provide learning opportunities that help them resist the norms that encourage violence (ie. TV, movies, games)

Men & Boys as Agents of Change

• develop messages that give abusive men powerful motivation to change

• stress the benefits of a less violent world

Men & Boys as Agents of Change

• Don’t assess blame to all men -- this alienates them and puts them on the defensive

• Challenge men and boys to take opportunities and become agents of change

Focus on Safety and Accountability

• Challenge all aspects of oppressive behaviour (from sexist jokes to physical violence)

• Challenge Homophobia• Remind men and boys that social pressures

aren’t responsible for men’s violence -- individual men are

• Focus on holding ourselves accountable as individuals, families, peer groups and communities for the choices we make to stop violence

Work Toward Healing

• Just like women, men need spaces to heal from their own experiences with violence

• In this safe space they can learn about how this violence plays out in their own attitudes and behaviors

Use the Right Messenger

• The messenger is as important as the message when reaching out to men and boys -- credibility is the key

• Mixed gender pairs or teams of educators who model gender partnership demonstrate a strong message

• It’s valuable for men and boys to hear the voices and experiences of women and girls but it is also true that many men are more likely to listen to other men

• Messages might be more effective delivered by men

• Men can serve as role models and mentors

Use Positive, Relevant Messages

• Men and boys are deluged with negative messages from TV, movies, video games every day

• Violence prevention messages must compete with these and present a positive alternative

Resources

• White Ribbon Campaignwww.whiteribbon.ca

• Family Violence Prevention Fund, End Abusewww.endabuse.org