Vital research by the Wales Violence Prevention Unit sets out considerations on how to best engage men and boys in violence prevention.
Violence is a societal issue, often rooted in harmful social norms and stereotypes that sustain inequality. These norms and stereotypes are damaging to everyone, and everyone has a role in changing the narrative. However, historically, initiatives to prevent violence, have largely neglected the vital role men and boys can play as allies and ambassadors.
Recognising the importance of involving everyone in the solution, the Wales Violence Prevention Unit (VPU) has launched the ‘Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention Toolkit’, in partnership with Plan International UK. This Toolkit brings together academic evidence and professional expertise to support the development of inclusive, accessible and engaging programmes for men and boys.
“This is a key piece of work for the VPU. We recognise the important role men and boys have to play in violence prevention, as allies and ambassadors, and we want to ensure our work is supporting them in these roles. With a deeper understanding of what works to engage men and boys in violence prevention in Wales, we can share this learning to support practitioners in delivering interventions that work for men and boys, as well as also using this evidence to further refine our commissioned interventions, future iterations of our #SafeToSay campaign, and future research on violence prevention”
Dr Alex Walker, Research Lead for the Toolkit, Wales Violence Prevention Unit
“Plan International UK has been exploring how we can engage boys and young men in preventative approaches to Violence against Women and Girls. Boys were telling us about the pressure that they felt to be seen as 'tough' and subscribe to harmful gender norms. In our recent State of Girls Rights in the UK 2024 project, just over half of girls and young women aged 12 to 21 (56%) agree that they have been taught what they need to know about healthy relationships and sex, as girls and young women. Yet less than one in five (17%) girls and young women feel that boys and men are taught what boys should know about healthy relationships and sex, which poses an interesting question about the effectiveness of education and learning about these issues.
We commissioned the Test and Learn pilots to explore how to tackle these narratives. Through this work we have found that to effectively engage with boys and young men in making meaningful change to tackling violence against women and girls, we need to appreciate they are also victims of the same societal pressures and norms, understand their realities, get to know what is important to them, and find ways in which they will engage in order to build a picture of what's going to work.
We're delighted to be sharing our findings in partnership with the VPU so others can learn from them, and collectively we can start to drive a change for all young people.”
Anne-Marie Lawrence, Wales Development Manager, Plan International UK
As part of the implementation of the Wales Without Violence Framework, the Toolkit will continue to develop to provide a range of accessible information for understanding, supporting, and critically assessing the role that programmes designed to specifically support men and boys can play in preventing violence. At this stage, the toolkit consists of two reports and an infographic:
- “You’ve given me the courage to challenge how boys treat girls” Key Findings from ‘Test and Learn’ Projects in Wales- this report shares findings from focus groups with Plan International UK’s Test and Learn projects. Primarily, it explores evidence from practice and from literature on enablers and barriers to engaging men and boys in violence prevention.
- Investing in allies and ambassadors- Engaging men and boys in violence prevention: A Review of Programmes in Wales- this report showcases Welsh programmes that aim to engage men and boys in violence prevention. These programmes were identified by professionals as part of a survey, and this report provides considerations for practitioners, researchers, policy makers and commissioners on project development, including evaluation, and project delivery.
- An infographic which draws out the key considerations from both reports for designing and delivering programmes to engage men and boys in preventing violence.
To explore the Toolkit, click here: Resources - Wales Without Violence