NCJ Number
203641
Date Published
2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This document discusses ways that men can stop violence against women.
Abstract
Men have traditionally been absent from the endeavor to end violence against women. With 44 percent of women reporting violence in a 2001 WHO report, all men can take responsibility to break their silence about this issue. Campaigns with boys and men throughout the world are being initiated to foster dialogue and awareness of the importance of involving boys and men in the fight to end violence against women. The role and contribution of men in addressing and solving gender based violence is vital. It is important not to generalize blame to all men, while at the same time to put into question the culture of masculinity and male privileges in patriarchal societies. Men need to be encouraged not to remain passive in the face of a culture of masculinity that condones violence against women but rather to speak up and take action alongside women’s struggles to stop violence. Men and boys will have to work through issues of masculinity and the patriarchal order, questioning their own psychological and social identity. Most men and boys are not aware that they are in a position of social power and privilege over women. Many boys and men feel that opposing violence against women threatens their masculine identity. Many boys and men have experienced violence themselves. It is vital that men are involved particularly not only to provide support and security for the women, girls, and boys around them, but also for themselves to embrace a less demanding form of masculine identity. Men should be encouraged to work together to form men’s movements to fight against gender based violence. Men are much likelier to listen to men than to women. Men’s voices in the struggle to end violence against women validate and add force to women’s concerns and claims. More egalitarian and nurturing forms of masculinity need to be developed and celebrated by men, that will replace the traditional forms premised on dominance, authority, control, and force.