The role of young masculinities in men's violence against women

Opinion: we need a lot more than classes in schools if we are going to prevent violence against women and engage men in this process

By Claire Edwards and Robert Bolton, UCC

The Metropolitan Police’s edict to women to not go out alone in the wake of the tragic death of Sarah Everard has led to a deluge of commentary on social media. Such advice not only blames the victim (for being a woman in an 'unsafe’ space), but is also mis-directed as it ignores men’s role in violence perpetration. These issues speak to deeply embedded societal understandings about gender norms, how we understand masculinity and manhood and the behaviours society associates with being a man.

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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, journalist Louise McLoughlin reports on the heavy criticism faced by the Met Police over clashes at a Sarah Everard vigil in London.

For years, academics and activists seeking to address men’s violence against women have pointed to the need to challenge what sociologist Raewyn Connell refers to as ‘hegemonic masculinity’, those ways of being a man associated with having power over women. However, the continuing prevalence of violence against women suggests that we still have a long way to go.

As part of a European study, we are conducting research looking at how young Irish people aged 18 to 24 understand masculinities in the context of trying to challenge men’s violence against women. In exploring young people’s understandings, the PositivMasc project is particularly concerned with exploring how men might be engaged as allies and activists and in challenging traditional norms about what it means to be a man. The findings point to the complexities of young people’s understandings of violence and masculinity, and how to engage men in the promotion of what we might call ‘alternative’ masculinities that actively reject violence.

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In interviews with 28 young people, we found that participants generally had a broad understanding of different types of violence, and considered most types unacceptable and unjustifiable, but there were some areas of ambiguity. For example, we presented participants with vignettes depicting violent scenarios. In the scenarios that involved physical violence (a partner hitting a girlfriend, for example), young people clearly articulated that the violence was wrong and unjustifiable.

However, in a vignette which involved a woman being groped in a bar, there was less certainty. Young people were unsure whether she should have been wearing the short skirt that was described in the depiction, or perhaps should have protected herself better. While young people did not see this behaviour as acceptable, it was very much normalised and to be expected.

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Indeed, one of the key findings to emerge is the ubiquity of unwanted touching and sexual assault experienced by young women, which was reported by both men and women in the study. This was attributed to men’s sense of entitlement, a wish to be funny, show off to the ‘lads’ or fit in with male peer group norms. This pressure to conform seemed to be a significant factor also in whether men would intervene in a violent situation, with young people commonly stating that ‘men listen to other men’.

The question remains then as to how we tackle violence against women and gender stereotypes, and engage men in this process. Our own experience of doing the research indicates that it is harder to engage men in these issues. A number of those who came forward to be interviewed did so because they knew women (friends, partners, sisters) who had been subject to some kind of violence or harassment.

From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Cliona Sadlier from the Rape Crisis Network on why the murder of Sarah Everard resonated with so many women

Supporting young men to speak out in group settings – where a friend circulates an inappropriate picture or comment on a group chat, for example – is clearly something that is important. But many young men described being reluctant to speak out in these contexts. While too many men perpetrate violence, it is clear to us that there are men who want to speak out and be part of the solution to men’s violence against women. This is where active bystander initiatives, such as UCC’s Bystander Intervention programme, have an important role to play in looking at very practical ways in which people can intervene.

However, this is not an issue that can be left to third level education. A recurring theme in young people’s narratives around prevention of violence against women is the need for much earlier education on gender stereotypes and issues of sexual consent. As they and many of the organisations that we spoke to have said, 18 is too old to be having these conversations. These are conversations which need to start in secondary and even primary school.

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Our society continues to be saturated by ideas about what it means to be a ‘real’ man based around having control, being a ‘player’ and suppressing emotional vulnerability. Ultimately, if we are going to prevent violence against women and engage men in this, we need more than one-off interventions or classes in schools. We are going to have to challenge the very structures of society which continue to position men and women in highly unequal power relationships.

Dr. Claire Edwards is Director of the Institute for Social Science in 21st Century (ISS21) and Principal Investigator of the PositivMasc study in UCC. Dr. Robert Bolton is Postdoctoral Researcher on PositivMasc in the Institute for Social Science in 21st Century at UCC. The study is funded by the Irish Research Council, through the EU GENDER-NET Plus initiative, and is made up of an interdisciplinary team of academics from ISS21, School of Applied Social Studies and School of Law in UCC.

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