A Global Exploratory Analysis of Men Participating in Gender-Based Violence Prevention

Abstract

Organizations addressing gender-based violence (GBV) increasingly include men as partners in prevention efforts. However, little is known about men who get involved in those efforts and what specific actions they take. We present analyses of data from an international sample of men involved in gender-based prevention work that aimed to describe (a) the nature of participants' involvement in prevention efforts, in both formal programming and in their daily lives; (b) characteristics of engaged men, including gender and bystander-related attitudes and beliefs, and social networks; and (c) factors that sustain men's involvement in GBV movements over time. Comparisons across global regions for these variables were also conducted. A total of 379 male-identified participants above 18 who had attended a GBV event in the past year completed an online survey (available in English, French, and Spanish). Respondents represented all continents except Antarctica, although North America was over-represented in the sample. Overall, respondents scored well above North American norms for men on support for gender equality and recognition of male privilege, and this was true across all geographic regions. Men in all regions reported moderate support from friends and somewhat less support from male relatives for their involvement in GBV prevention. Respondents in all regions reported high levels of active bystander and violence-preventive behavior. The most commonly reported motivations for involvement in GBV prevention included concern for related social justice issues, exposure to the issue of violence through work, hearing a moving story, or disclosures about domestic or sexual violence. Results were mainly similar across regions, but when regional differences emerge, they tended to be contrasts between the global north and global south, highlighting the importance of cross-fertilization across regions and a willingness to adapt critical learnings in new geographic settings.

Examining Men’s Perceptions of GBV Prevention Programming Content

“…In addition, perhaps the reality that a majority of the events were offered as part of ongoing violence prevention programming (Carlson, Allen, Leek, Storer, Casey, Tolman, 2017) meant that the event was not enough to boost motivation beyond what men come to the events with already. Finally, the men in this sample were already willing to attend a violence prevention programming event, and previous analysis revealed that overall they already had very high levels of gender equitable attitudes (Tolman, Casey, Allen, Carlson, Leek, Storer, 2016). Taken together, the types or classes of events did not clearly inform pathways of motivation.…”

Use of Social Network Analysis to Identify Popular Opinion Leaders for a Youth-Led Sexual Violence Prevention Initiative

“…Given that the engagement of boys and men is critical to the prevention of SV (Basile et al, 2016;Ricardo & Verani, 2010), research is sorely needed to identify the most effective ways to engage them in these activities. Recent work on engaging men as allies against SV discussed the need to tailor messages to the specific roles men can play in prevention movements, the importance of male opinion leaders, tailored invitations, and connecting the prevention work to community roles that men and boys value (Carlson et al, 2015;Tolman et al, 2016). Furthermore, in a study with men, researchers documented that men's engagement with SV prevention efforts was a process that evolved over time and that it largely happened through existing peer groups, which further supports the potential utility of SNA in identifying male-identified POLs.…”

Men’s Activism to End Violence Against Women

“…As well as the political impacts of activities such as demonstrations and marches, the existence of a tangible movement of men working to end violence women, as can be seen in Spain, can also play an important role in providing support and enabling men to feel a sense that they are 'part of something'; that they are involved in a community of like-minded people rather than being isolated (Tolman et al, 2019).…”