Boys to Men –
Promotion of Best Practice and Policies in
Health and Development of Adolescent Boys
Draft Consultation Paper
1
1. Introduction to the report
a. Why report is needed
CARE International and its local partners believe that responding to the issues facing boys and young
men matters. If we are to improve the lives of girls, women, boys and men themselves, public policies
must reflect the specific needs and experiences of young men and boys and address both their power
and their needs in a much more sophisticated way.. This involves thinking not just about what men and
boys do, but also about whom they are and how their identities are formed. Going beyond biological
explanations, we seek to promote understanding of how various forms of masculinity (or ‘masculinities’)
are socially constructed – and how new possibilities can be opened up for young men and boys to live
their lives in more positive and less damaging ways.
Against this background, this report aims to stimulate discussion on the opportunities and risks in
supporting, engaging, and where necessary challenging young men and boys in order to make progress
towards gender equality and other social goals. CARE International and its partners believes it is time to
stimulate and harness far more effectively the huge potential that young men and boys have to
contribute to the well-being of society, for example in relation to relationships, health, work, education
and women’s and public safety. It also seeks to explore the problems that men and boys experience and
the problems they create, to identify how policy and legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and
Serbia can impede or promote progress, and to outline practical proposals for reform at all levels.
In order to move beyond the media stereotypes we need to working hand in hand with young men and
boys to understand their developmental challenges and insure our public policies take their voice into
account. This report is just a beginning to a much longer process designed to engage with a variety of
stakeholders. We also believe that men and boys can and should be the allies of women and girls in
working towards more equitable and just society based on human rights and equality for all.
b. Objectives of report
The report addresses the following specific objectives:
1. Contexts and theory: to identify key issues arising from the existing literature on men, boys,
masculinities and gender equality, healthy lifestyles and violence prevention.
2. Policy issues: to consider a range of public policies regarding young men and boys and make
clear their needs.
3. Participation: to begin to engage with key stakeholders including NGOs, community groups,
local authorities, relevant agencies and government departments.
4. Recommendations: to highlight findings that could be shared with government officials and
stakeholders to support policy development.
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c. Methodology
To start this process a desk review was conducted on some of the available literature in the field of men
and masculinities. This paper does not represent a comprehensive overview, with keeping to its
purpose to only start a discussion and to keep the amount of material to a readable level for this initial
stage, the paper only touches on some key issues, recognizing there are many more undoubtedly worth
discussing. This paper is the first step of a longer process of assessing public policies and proposing
more concrete steps forward.
In the future it is planned to conduct policy reviews in each of the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia and Serbia with regards to boys and young men. This will start a deeper dialogue with
stakeholders on next steps. This conference and this paper should highlight some critical steps to move
this region forward on addressing some of the issues outlined in this paper.
2. Introduction: Boys, men and masculinities
Men’s and women’s lives, and the gender relations between them, change over time, across cultures
and within particular societies. Many men are spending more time with their children, and voicing a
desire to be more involved fathers. These shifts undermine any crude notion that there is one universal
form of ‘masculinity’ (or ‘femininity’) applicable to all societies at all times. There are, however,
dominant ways of ‘being male’ which affect many men’s attitudes and behavior. For instance, they may
display an unwillingness to take their own health problems seriously. They may adhere to restrictive
codes of masculinity – ‘be tough and aggressive’. There are also significant differences between men (as
there are between women), and the term ‘masculinities’ has been coined to reflect the many possible
ways of ‘being a man’.1
Masculinities can also be understood as collective as well as individual experiences. The way young men
think and act is influenced or conditioned by the groups and/or institutions they belong to, be they
schools, cafes, businesses, or the football club. For example, young men make choices about how they
behave and communicate amongst their peers, in part on the basis of the social context they find
themselves in (e.g. at school, café, youth center, watching or playing a sports match). Violence can also
be sustained or encouraged by the cultures within particular groups (e.g. among football hooligans or
fan clubs) or institutions (e.g. in schools).2
1
Harland, K., Beattie, K. & McCready S. (2005). Young men and the squeeze of masculinity. Centre for Young Men
Studies, University of Ulster.
2
Ruxton, Sandy. Man made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy, Coalition on Men and Boys UK,
October 2008
3
Gender equality holds the promise of improvements in men’s and boys’ relationships – not only with
women and girls, but also in the relations they often have with other men and boys. Greater gender
equality will reduce the pressures on men to conform to damaging and rigid forms of masculinity. This is
likely to reduce men’s violence, help to strengthen community safety and develop peaceful conflict
resolution and improve family interaction. Involving men may help to create wider consensus and
support for change on issues (e.g. in relation to family, violence, sexual and reproductive health) that
have previously been marginalized as ‘women’s issues’.
It is generally acknowledged that previous sociological enquiry in the arena of masculinity focused
heavily on the position of men relative to that of women, with much emphasis placed on the
subordinated position of the latter. However, research into men and masculinities has developed and
evolved in recent decades (Kimmel, Hearn and Connell, 2005). Rather than simply treating masculinity as
a single one-dimensional entity, a complex multi-faceted concept of what it means to be ‘male’ has been
developed. In contrast with previous thinking on the subject, theorists now argue a spectrum of
masculinities exists, with multiple ways of ‘doing male’ (Connell, 1995; 2000;Whitehead, 2002).
Indeed, much research has been conducted into the way in which hegemonic masculinity seeks to
reassert itself through the punishment and subsequent control of alternative masculine identities (Mac
an Ghaill, 1999; Epstein and Johnson, 1998; Beattie, 2004). Patriarchy compels young men to act within
a rigid set of boundaries or face a number of social sanctions. They are expected to refute any behavior
construed as feminine or that which contravenes traditional masculine stereotypes. Moreover, some
sociologists would argue that in striving to achieve hegemonic masculinity young men are compelled not
only to check these unwelcome character traits in themselves, but also to actively police others. One
example of this is demonstrated by Herek (2000), who maintains that vociferous expressions of
homophobia serve to disprove conclusively that one is homosexual, thus proving heterosexuality - one
of the cultural expectations associated with the traditional male gender role. However, the effect of
such demonstrations is two-fold: not only do displays of homophobia serve to reinforce group
membership, but they also enforce the norms and values associated with hegemonic masculinity
(Beattie, 2004). The threat of homophobic verbal or physical violence results in many individuals
changing or attempting to change their behavior or the way in which they present themselves in order
to fit in with this rigidly constructed gender stereotype.
3. Boys, Men and Policy
a. International context
Men in many contexts, through their roles in the home, the community and at the national level, have the
potential to bring about change in attitudes, roles, relationships and access to resources and decision-making
which are critical for equality between women and men. In their relationships as fathers, brothers, husbands
and friends, the attitudes and values of men and boys impact directly on the women and girls around them.
Men should therefore be actively involved in developing and implementing legislation and policies to foster
gender equality, and in providing role models to promote gender equality in the family, the workplace and in
society at large.
Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan
4
A central principle of international law, articulated in many UN documents from the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights onwards, is equality between men and women. The most complete set of
international standards in this area is set out in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which requires ratifying states to abolish sex discrimination
and to promote the equality of women with men in all aspects of political, social, economic and cultural
life. CEDAW took effect in Croatia in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1993 and Serbia 20013.
Interest in the issue of how to involve men and boys in achieving gender equality has grown significantly
at international level over the past decade. For example, the 1994 International Conference on
Population and Development in Cairo set out a Programme of Action which highlighted the need to
encourage men to take responsibility with respect to child-rearing and housework, family life as well as
parenthood and sexual and reproductive behaviour. And at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on
Women, the ‘Beijing Declaration’ committed participating governments to ‘encourage men to
participate fully in all actions towards equality’ (paragraph 25).
In 2004, an important UN Conference on ‘The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality’
called for action on a range of themes, including:
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promoting education based on gender equality;
engaging men as fathers in socialising and caring for children;
including men and boys in gender equality and gender mainstreaming policies;
engaging the media in ensuring less stereotypical imagery and attitudes;
engaging men and boys in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, and in sexual and reproductive health;
and
engaging men and boys in the reduction of gender-based violence.
The Conference concluded, among other things, that key ‘stakeholders’ – governments, UN
organisations, civil society – should promote action at all levels to increase the contribution of men and
boys to furthering gender equality.
Mirroring this new agenda at the political level, there is some evidence of positive initiatives emerging in
a number of countries which are encouraging men to show support for gender equality. For instance, a
group of national and international NGOs have formed a global network called MenEngage – A Global
Alliance to Engage Boys and Men in Gender Equality. MenEngage is a global alliance of NGOs and UN
agencies that seeks to engage boys and men to achieve gender equality. At the national level, members
include more than 400 NGOs from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America,
Asia and Europe. The Alliance came together in 2004 with the general goal of working in partnership to
promote the engagement of men and boys in achieving gender equality, promoting health and reducing
violence at the global level, including questioning the structural barriers to achieving gender equality.4
Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) is a network of WHO Member States, international agencies and civil
3
The former Yugoslavia had signed and ratified the Convention on 17 July 1980 and 26 February 1982,
respectively.
4
MenEngage web site: http://www.menengage.org/who-we-are.asp
5
society organizations working to prevent violence. VPA participants share an evidence-based public
health approach that targets the risk factors leading to violence and promotes multi-sectoral
cooperation. The Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) was officially formed in January 2004 at the WHOhosted Milestones of a global campaign for violence prevention meeting. VPA is an opportunity for
groups from all sectors (governmental, non-governmental and private) and levels (community, national,
regional and international) to unite around a shared vision and approach to violence prevention that
works both to address the root causes of violence and to improve services for victims.5
b. European context
‘…in order to improve the status of women and promote gender equality, more attention should be
paid to how men are involved in the achievement of gender equality, as well as to the positive
impact of gender equality for men and for the wellbeing of society as a whole’.
Council of the European Union, ‘Conclusions on Men and Gender Equality’, 1 December 2006
Gender equality is a fundamental principle of the European Union, and there is a long tradition
of support at this level for measures to promote gender equality. In particular, the EU has focused
on combating sex discrimination in employment, social security and access to goods and services.
In practice, there has been a limited explicit focus on men within EU policy. There has been a
longstanding interest in encouraging men as carers (especially for children), but only in the last few
years have initiatives to combat violence49 – and in particular, transnational issues in relation to
prostitution, trafficking and sexual exploitation – developed any focus on men and masculinities.6
Recently there has been growing awareness of the importance of seeking to engage men and boys
in the achievement of gender equality more broadly. In 2006, for example, Finland’s EU Presidency
organised an expert conference on men and gender equality, and the EU Council of Ministers
– the heads of Member State governments – subsequently agreed a set of ‘Conclusions on Men and
Gender Equality’)7. These promote a range of actions at Member State level, including:
5
Violence Prevention Alliance web site: http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/about/en/
6
Ruxton, Sandy. Man made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy, Coalition on Men and Boys UK,
October 2008
7
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/91959.pdf
6
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development of education methods to eliminate gender stereotypes and to improve the
capacity of men and boys to care for themselves and others;
reinforcement of institutional structures for promoting gender equality, both in the public and
private sectors;
measures to ensure equal career opportunities, and to encourage men and boys to choose
education and employment in female-dominated fields (and vice versa);
recognition of the gender dimension in health;
punitive measures against the perpetrators of violence, and preventive measures targeted
especially at men and boys;
policies to reconcile professional and private life, in order to support an equal sharing of
domestic and household responsibilities;
encouraging men to take-up family leave entitlements;
promotion of awareness-raising and take up of flexible working; and
increasing gender-related research and the exchange of good practice.
Within the Council of Europe (CoE),a range of recommendations have also been developed to assist
Member States in moving towards gender equality; whilst these are not legally binding, they have
significant political weight. In the Council of Europe Report from the Committee on Equal Opportunities
for Women and Men issued in October 23, 2008 a report titled Involving men in achieving gender
equality 8which included the following conclusions for member states;
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initiate educational programs to encourage boys and men to play a part in equality projects and
to put forward proposals for specific action to raise their awareness of the importance of gender
equality;
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promote the involvement of men, at the earliest possible age, in combating violence against
women and girls;
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fully incorporate men’s involvement in sectoral policies relating to reproductive health, the
organizing of working time and family policies, while at the same time explicitly addressing the
question of gender equality.
Among European countries, there is considerable difference in approaches to gender equality law and
policy, and in the extent to which they have explored men and masculinity issues. Two Nordic nations,
Finland and Norway stand out as two examples of countries with the most developed policies.
8
http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc08/EDOC11760.pdf
7
Innovative approaches include9;
In Finland there has been a Men’s Section (the ‘Subcommittee on Men’s Issues’) at government
level since the late 1980s. Its remit is to: act as an expert discussion forum; initiate public
discussion on men’s issues; prepare and introduce initiatives; and produce reports. The
membership comprises male and female activists, researchers and representatives of
interested groups – from gay rights to fathers ‘rights groups. The Subcommittee has been an
important forum for those with differing opinions and interests in politics around men. In
addition, since 1995, an amendment to the Act on Equality between Women and Men has
required all state committees, commissions and appointed local authorities to have a minimum
of 40 per cent membership for both women and men; in 2005 this was extended to all
organisations involved in municipal cooperation.
In 2007, the Government of Norway set up a ‘Men’s Panel’, with the purpose of contributing to
debate on men, boys and gender equality and coming up with some new policy proposals. This
has stimulated a stronger focus on men and gender equality issues in the media. The panel's
proposals are not binding, and it is not yet clear which recommendations will be followed up by
the Government. In addition to the panel, a large survey was undertaken, focusing on men (but
with both male and female respondents). The Government recently drafted a White Paper on
men and gender equality to send to the Parliament. The White Paper proposes concrete
measure in response to a range of topics, including: perspectives on masculinities; boys’
education; career choices and the labour market; men as fathers and partners; masculinities,
health and lifestyles; and masculinities and violence.
c. SEE/Balkan context
Currently no policy analysis has been done in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina specifically
looking at policy as it pertains to boys, men and masculinity. In Croatia, as part of the Men and
Gender Equality Policy Project, a global research initiative coordinated by International Center
for the Research on Women in Washington DC and Instituto Promundo in Brazil, CARE is
supporting the Center for Education, Counseling and Research (CESI) in Zagreb to participate in
this global research. Activities include;
9
Ruxton, Sandy. Man made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy, Coalition on Men and Boys UK,
October 2008
8
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The International Men and Gender Equality Survey, a standardized questionnaire (one
applied with women and one with men, 1000 of each) to measure men's behaviors and
attitudes on a range of issues related to gender equality. This survey builds on a
Norwegian questionnaire for women and men on men's behaviors and attitudes,
gender-based violence, fatherhood, sexual and reproductive health, domestic work and
work-life balance. Additional questions are being added from a South African survey on
violence, and from the Gender Equitable Men (GEM) Scale.
Policy research and analysis on the potential points of leverage for changing male
gender norms and men's behaviors related to sexual and reproductive health and
maternal and child health. This research involves developing national and comparative
policy tools for analyzing existing policies and identifying strategies for achieving largescale change related to men.
It is planned if resources become available to conduct a similar process in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Serbia.
4. Key Focus Areas: Adolescent boys, masculinities and public policy
This report focuses on a number of areas in which masculinity plays a direct role in the
choices and opportunities for adolescent boys and young men. Health and Well Being;
Education and Violence for this report have been separated out but are all connected and
joined up. These focus areas are not exhaustive and there other areas worth exploring;
including issues related to fatherhood and work. This draft of this report is designed to
highlight some key issues and or themes related to these topics. It is not an exhaustive
study but a first step in a more intensive process planned for the future.
9
5. Healthy Lifestyles (Health and Well Being)10
Council of the European Union
Council Resolution on the health and well-being of young people
2905th EDUCATION , YOUTH AND CULTURE Council meeting - Brussels, 20 November 2008
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
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particular attention should be paid to promoting a healthy lifestyle and preventive
measures, especially in the context of sexual activity, alcohol abuse and drug use, smoking,
eating disorders, obesity, violence, gambling and addiction to information and
communication technologies;
young men and women experience different challenges concerning health and well-being
and gender issues should therefore be taken into consideration when dealing with the
health of young people;
Assumptions are often made about the health and development of adolescent boys: that they are faring
well, and supposedly have fewer health needs and developmental risks compared to adolescent girls;
and that adolescent boys are disruptive, aggressive and hard to work with. This second assumption
focuses on specific aspects of boys - behavior and development, such as violence and delinquency .criticizing and sometimes criminalizing their behavior without adequately understanding its context11.
New research and perspectives call for a more careful and thorough understanding of how adolescent
boys are socialized, what they need in terms of healthy development, and what health systems can do
to assist them in more appropriate ways, and how we can engage boys to promote greater gender
equity for adolescent girls.
Research and program experience suggests that most adolescent boys and young men need:
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information about sexual and reproductive health,
opportunities to discuss their doubts about these matters,
10
Much of this section was taken from the pioneering report completed by Gary Barker for the World Health
Organization called What about boys? A literature review on the health and development of adolescent boys.
11
Barker, Gary, What about boys: A literature review on the health and development of adolescent boys. World
Health Organization, 2000 .
10
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access to condoms, and
exposure to messages and role models that reinforce more gender-equitable ways of interacting
with females.12
Applied to the health and developmental needs of adolescent boys, the field of masculinities is helping
us understand how boys are socialized into prevailing norms about what is socially acceptable
“masculine” behavior in a given setting and how boys adherence to these prevailing norms can
sometimes have negative consequences for their health and development. Of course, we should be
careful not to portray boys as mere puppets to social norms, and to recognize the contextual nature of
their behavior. Nonetheless, it is clear that the versions of masculinity or manhood that young men
adhere to or are socialized into have important implications for their health and well-being and that of
other young men and women around them.
Young males generally have sex earlier and with more partners before forming a stable union than do
young females. Young males are also more likely than young females to have occasional sexual partners
outside of a stable relationship. The fact that many males, married and unmarried have multiple sexual
partners has important reproductive health implications for males and females, notably regarding
transmission of STIs, including HIV infection. This is a key rationale for seeking to understand and
respond to the sexual and reproductive needs and realities of young males.
Boys are almost universally socialized to produce, achieve, and perform— tendencies that have
implications for sexuality and reproductive health. A review of ethnographic research on male
socialization worldwide concludes that almost all families and cultures promote an achievementoriented masculinity for boys and men, with the goal that males should become providers and
protectors . Many cultures socialize boys to be aggressive and competitive—skills that are useful for
being a provider and protector—while socializing girls to be nonviolent and sometimes to accept
passively male violence . In some cultures boys are also brought up to adhere to rigid codes of “honor”
and “bravado” that obligate them to compete, fight, and use violence to resolve even minor disputes13.
Finally, however, we should remember that gender is only one variable affecting development
and health. Social class, ethnicity, local context and country settings are all important variables
that interact with gender to influence health and well-being. By focusing on gender, and specifically
masculinity, as the variable, we have to be careful not to lose sight of these other important variables.
12
Barker, Gary. "Engaging adolescent boys and young men in promoting sexual and reproductive health: Lessons,
research, and programmatic challenges," in Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health: Charting
Directions for a Second Generation of Programming—Background Documents for the Meeting. New York:
Population Council, pp. 109–153
13
Barker, Gary, What about boys: A literature review on the health and development of adolescent boys. World
Health Organisation, 2000 .
11
Boys difficulties in seeking help and expressing emotions have important consequences for their mental
health and development. Where boys are working in large numbers or spend their time outside the
home and school settings, boys may also be less likely than girls to be connected to informal and formal
support networks. While male kinship and peer groups may provide a space for socialization and
companionship, they may provide limited opportunities for discussions of personal needs and health
concerns.
Summing up, the literature suggests that the biological differences that exist between boys and
girls affect their health and development in a more limited way than differences due to gender
socialization. The literature identifies two key trends in the socialization of adolescent boys with direct
implications for their health and well-being: 1.) a too-early push toward autonomy and a repression of
desires for emotional connection; and 2.) social pressure to achieve rigidly defined male roles. In some
low-income areas where access to other sources of masculine identity, such as school success or stable
employment, are harder to achieve young men may be more inclined to adopt exaggerated masculine
postures that involve risk-taking behavior, violence or sexist attitudes toward women, and violence
against other men as a way to prove their manhood.
6. Education14
The Council of the European Union
Conclusions on men and gender equality (extract)
30 November and 1 December 2006
The Council of the European Union:

encourages the development, from early childcare and education, of pedagogic
practices aimed at eliminating gender stereotypes, also paying attention to educational
methods and tools that improve the capacity and potential of boys and men to care for
themselves and others…’.
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‘encourages the Member States to pay attention to the promotion of gender equality,
as well as how men relate to it, through debate and information on gender stereotypes
and the relations between men and women, especially with regard to young people’.
to prove their manhood.
14
This section was largely adapted from the new report Man Made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy
authored by Sandy Ruxton in 2008 for the Coalition on Men and Boys in the UK.
12
At European level, the Council of Europe has recently produced a series of recommendations to the
governments of Member States on mainstreaming gender in education. This document proposes that a
gender perspective, aimed at encouraging gender equality, be incorporated into every aspect of
education: from legislation through to teacher training; from curriculum design through to school
governance and organization. It presents a comprehensive outline of how gender equality in education
should be addressed for the benefit of boys and men, girls and women. These recommendations are
fairly sophisticated, thorough and highly relevant to education in England and Wales; they could be used
as ‘a guide for action’ and detailed strategies developed to implement their recommendations within
schools and other educational settings.
In the research and policy study done in the UK called Man Made: Men, masculinities and public policy
that within the school setting, developing masculinities in line with, and as part of, a broader social
justice approach is important in itself, and is also an effective way to improve boys’ educational
experiences and achievements.
In particular15:
Boys need to be educated to be equal, to understand and believe in equality, including gender equality.
The moral and practical arguments for equality need to be discussed and debated. By starting from
boys’ own experiences, including a recognition of their own feelings of powerlessness and/or power,
this should also enable boys to understand the unequal relationships between boys and men, and the
negative consequences inequalities cause.
Boys need to be able to explore what being a boy and being a man means. Spaces need to be created
in formal educational and other settings to address the constricting aspects of masculinity and explore
what being a boy/man means, what it could mean, what boys/men (as well as girls/women) might want
it to mean and what it should and should not mean. Challenging the ‘boy’ culture in education, the peer
group ‘policing’ of acceptable masculinities and the anti-education agenda of many boys will be an
essential part of this process. It will also be important to encourage boys to understand the economic
and social structures that currently limit and influence the opportunities available to boys and men (e.g.
in relation to parenting and other caring roles), and to empower them to reflect on how they want to
respond to and overcome these constraints. Developing more emotional literacy and more caring, less
destructive identities may well be desired, and boys talk about their sense that their friendships are
often more superficial than those of girls. However, it is important not to be too prescriptive or
15
Ruxton, Sandy. Man made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy, Coalition on Men and Boys UK,
October 2008
13
judgmental about what kinds of masculinity are ‘required’ but to let boys genuinely explore and remake
their own masculinity.
Girls and women, as well as boys and men, need to be involved in the whole process of addressing
boys’ educational issues. This is not only a men’s issue or a boys’ issue – but also an issue for all. A
gender-sensitive approach, alive to the differing gender constructions of boys and girls, needs to be
developed by all involved in education. Further, it is quite clear that girls are active in the construction of
prevailing masculinity, and boys and girls need to be allies around remaking masculinity.
The educational context and wider society will need to be reformed to make it more conducive to
achieving greater gender equality and addressing the restrictive and problematic aspects of masculinity.
A key aspect of this challenge for schools is attempting to engage actively with students’ parents and
communities around these issues. Only with such a framework in mind are schools likely to address
issues such as: bullying; homophobia; violence; literacy problems; gendered subject choices; boys’
educational achievement within education; fathers’ involvement in their children’s education at school
and elsewhere – and contribute to creating more secure, exciting, caring, non-violent men and boys in
society generally. Moving to greater gender equality and reconstructing masculinities, changing the
ways in which boys and men live their lives, could only benefit girls and would inevitably occur alongside
continuing developments in femininities too.
14
7. Violence16
UN Commission on the Status of Women
Conclusions on the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality (extract), Forty-eighth
session
1-12 March 2004
The Commission urges UN agencies, Governments, the private sector, NGOs and other
stakeholders, to:
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‘encourage and support men and boys to take an active part in the prevention and
elimination of all forms of violence, and especially gender-based violence… and increase
awareness of men’s and boy’s responsibility in ending the cycle of violence, inter alia,
through the promotion of attitudinal and behavioral change, integrated education and
training which prioritize the safety of women and children, prosecution and
rehabilitation of perpetrators, and support for survivors, and recognizing that men and
boys also experience violence;
‘encourage an increased understanding among men how violence, including trafficking
for the purposes of commercialized sexual exploitation, forced marriages and forced
labor, harms women, men and children and undermines gender equality, and consider
measures aimed at eliminating the demand for trafficked women and children’.
The Council of the European Union
Conclusions on men and gender equality (extract)
30 November and 1 December 2006
The Council of the European Union:

‘acknowledges that the vast majority of gender-based acts of violence are perpetrated
by men; urges the Member States and the Commission to combine punitive measures
against the perpetrators with preventive measures targeted especially at young men
and boys and to set up specific program for victims as well as for offenders, particularly
in the case of domestic violence.
16
This section was largely adapted from Young People and Violence Prevention by Gavan Titley for the Council of
Europe in 2004.
15
Violence by young people is one of the most visible forms of violence in society. Around the world,
newspapers and the broadcast media report daily on violence by gangs, in schools or by young people
on the streets. The main victims and perpetrators of such violence, almost everywhere, are themselves
adolescents and young adults. Homicide and non-fatal assaults involving young people contribute
greatly to the global burden of premature death, injury and disability.
Youth violence deeply harms not only its victims, but also their families, friends and communities. Its
effects are seen not only in death, illness and disability, but also in terms of the quality of life. Violence
involving young people adds greatly to the costs of health and welfare services, reduces productivity,
decreases the value of property, disrupts a range of essential services and generally undermines the
fabric of society.
Masculinity does not cause or justify violence, but in important ways it licenses violence. Attempting to
live up to masculine stereotypes may involve projecting an uncompromising image, and one that has to
be defended and legitimized in certain male peer hierarchies where violence is central to their
construction of masculinity. In situations where other traditional markers of masculinity are
unachievable, physical prowess and toughness become key ways of proving oneself as a man. This
notion of proving is important in understanding the tendency towards 'recreational' violence within and
between groups of young men, particularly but by no means exclusively among the socio- economically
excluded. With regard to this it is important to stress that violence and masculinity are contextual, and
to guard against an over-concentration or potentially essential link between marginalized young men
and violence.
Research and consultation emphasize that a prevalent lack of emotional development and interpersonal
skills have negative consequences in many young men's lives. Violence may often become a means of
expressing anger, fear or aggression within the codes of masculinity; a violent act is an emotional display
devoid of apparent weakness, and it is an active outgoing response. Young men's built-up frustrations at
their social situation are often released through violence, and accumulate through a lack of spaces and
channels to express emotional needs. Anger is easily channeled into violence, and as an emotion that
dominates all others, is also harmful to the health of the perpetrator. Emotional development is crucial
in the area of sexuality and masculinity, where stereotypes of male potency and images of dominant
masculine sexuality may be difficult and damaging influences for boys and young men to evaluate and
counter-act.
Young Men and Violence include some of the following themes:
Gender Based Violence
Gender-based violence, or violence against women (VAW), is a major public health and human rights
problem throughout the world. Gender-based violence remains a key human rights challenge in
contemporary Europe. Central to this is a recognition that gender based violence takes many forms, is
perceived and evaluated differently in different societies, and involves women and men as victims,
perpetrators and agents of change. Nevertheless, what is common to different instances of genderbased violence is some form of gendered-ideology that frames, tolerates and attempts to justify or
mitigate the violence.
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Gender-based violence both reflects and reinforces inequities between men and women and
compromises the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims. It encompasses a wide range of
human rights violations, including sexual abuse of children, rape, domestic violence, sexual assault and
harassment, trafficking of women and girls and several harmful traditional practices. Any one of these
abuses can leave deep psychological scars, damage the health of women and girls in general, including
their reproductive and sexual health, and in some instances, results in death.
This absence of focus is complicated by the complex nature of gender based violence. It encompasses
not only reaches of criminal law, but also direct and indirect violations of a person's integrity, security
and dignity in socio-cultural contexts where perceptions of rights and possibilities vary significantly.
Gender-based violence that particularly affects young women ranges from direct physical and sexual
assault from dating violence to the effects of socio-economic exclusion. Fundamentally, violence of this
kind compounds the perceived inferiority and lesser status of women, and contributes to ongoing
patterns and relationships of domination.
Homophobic violence
Young people continue to suffer physical, verbal and institutional violence on the basis of their sexual
identities. Fear of and prejudice towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth (LGTB) manifests
itself in hate crimes, in bullying at school and in the workplace and in various forms of emotional
violence. Factors that contribute to homophobia across the Council of Europe member states are
diverse, and the differences in the living conditions and possibilities of LGTB youth vary enormously
across national and local contexts. Nevertheless is it possible to point to such general issues as a lack of
coherent information on and awareness of sexual diversity in families, social institutions and media
organizations, and sustained stereotyping in religious, political and cultural discourses.
Violence against women and other vulnerable groups in society can in many contexts be seen as
assertions of aggressive masculinity, and young gay men are particularly targeted in this respect. To
varying extents, homosexuality is still defined against 'proper' masculinity, and related to such
overlapping categories of difference as femininity and weakness. This idea of difference, and the
justification that cultural prejudice against homosexuality provides, fuels ongoing violence against young
homosexual men. Victims also include young men who are not gay, but whose appearance, demeanor
or behavior allows them to be categorized as different, not 'truly masculine' or homosexual and thus
rationalized as targets of violence.
Evidence suggests that the threat of and experience of violence remains a pervasive aspect of young gay
men's lives. This is particularly the case in East and South-Eastern Europe, and despite the prevalence of
legal protection and shifts in prevailing social attitudes it remains an important issue in Western
European countries as well. It must be recognized that high rates of non-reporting of homophobic
violence is likely in many European countries, an absence which suggests that a significant proportion of
hate crime victims do not feel secure in dealing with police and social services.
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School Violence/ Bullying
Violence in schools is a category that includes incidents that differ enormously in their scale, intent,
motivation, causes and victims. Violence can be sporadic and random, or it can amount to consistent,
repetitive harassment and victimization. Bullying can range from constant verbal and emotional abuse,
to theft of personal belongings, to physical attacks upon the person. It is necessary to emphasize that
what is perceived and classified - and therefore addressed - as bullying may vary, and actions that
threaten the integrity and security of the person may sometimes remain invisible and out of awareness
until consequences manifest themselves. Student-to-student violence is most frequently discussed in
relation to violence in schools, and while teacher-to-student violence remains an issue in some contexts,
student-to-teacher violence is progressively becoming a cause for concern.
As in other social and institutional contexts, becoming a victim of violence in school is often a
consequence of perceived difference and inferiority, and racist, discriminatory, homophobic and
gender-based violence also intersect in school environments. Yet violence in schools must be
approached as a shifting fusion of wider social influences and school-specific dynamics and
relationships. Bullies may justify their actions in, for example, racist terms, yet they may often also
relate to the yet they may often also relate to the establishment and maintenance of hierarchies within
school populations. In some contexts, this form of school violence has been linked to the continuance
and even intensification of gang activities within the school environment. School violence has been
related directly and indirectly with damaging short and long term consequences; from individual
instances of depression, substance abuse and educational underdevelopment to wider issues of
unemployment, society-wide levels of numeracy and literacy, and the normalization of violence as a
response to conflict of all kinds.
Sports Violence
In recent years instances of hooliganism and violence at high-profile soccer matches have brought the
question of violence in and around sports arenas back to public consciousness. Analyses of this form of
violence are involved and vary in different socio-cultural contexts, and opinion is divided on the ways
and degrees in which fandom and feelings of belonging in otherwise fragmented and individualized
societies find extreme expression in both planned and spontaneous violence. While being a fan is often
regarded as an 'episodic identity' that is expressed in coming together around shared sporting rituals, in
sports-related violence it can also be related to the expression of nationalist or racist sentiments and
politics. There is also evidence that unsurprisingly links drug and alcohol use to violence that already
takes place in a situation where emotions and tensions are heightened. The public performance of an
aggressive masculinity, as previously discussed, also undoubtedly intersects with these other dimensions
of football-related violence.
Current thinking on this kind of violence and the partnerships necessary to tackle it emphasize that
while arena security in many countries is well regulated and networked internationally, violence cannot
merely be displaced from sports arenas, as it is then likely to be re-placed to the domestic sphere and
urban spaces, in particular the environs of the stadium and city centers. Instead, sports-related violence
needs to be tackled through the kinds of preventive strategies and concentrated partnerships that have
been central to the kinds of recommendations made in this chapter. Such partnerships already include
in some instances the arena management, sports clubs, local community and authorities, relevant police
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bodies, ministries of sport and\or culture, and importantly, the fans, fan clubs and associations that
work with young fans. Preventive strategies focus on security-based measures, and socio-educational
approaches that involve clubs, supporters and relevant communities. With regard to the former,
increased security is designed to tackle both spontaneous violence and premeditated group violence.
Youth work and violence prevention
Mainstreaming gender as a way of approaching violence and young people is important, as it entails that
violent behavior is learnt socially, and can therefore be changed. Youth work with young people
involved in violence concentrates on change, and emphasizes the nontransferable responsibility of the
perpetrator. Equally, it can only
achieve change if it consistently stresses the social, economic and political contexts in which youth
violence is perpetrated, and the need for policy and program to set short, medium and long term aims.
Youth work with boys and young men takes many forms, but to be successful it must:
 Build meaningful relationships and spaces in which young men can reflect upon their lives.
 Aim to free young men from pressures to conform to or measure themselves against dominating
masculine stereotypes.
 Encourage young men to play an active role in their community and to address the issues that
impact upon their lives.
 Find innovative forms and strategies to actively support young men who do not actively seek
support.
 Train youth workers to develop the skills, awareness and attitudes necessary to work effectively
with boys and young men.
 Be recognized, valued and supported by broader youth work actors and initiatives.
Achieving these aims involves a re-thinking of relationships between formal and non-formal education, a
prioritization of youth work with boys and young men and gender mainstreaming in policy and support
agendas, and a social shift away from a simplistic relationship between crime and retributative justice.
Moralizing about violence to young people involved in violence is next to useless; moral frameworks
become shared when they have purchase in converging realities. For many young men, an involvement
in violence brings material gain, hierarchical advantage or distraction. Working with young perpetrators
of violence involves the need to facilitate the realization that violence is avoidable, and brings other
gains for themselves and others.
Despite the extent of male violence, it is also important to
remember that the vast majority of boys/young men are not
violent towards others. Although there is much public concern
currently about violence by and among young men, most are
not involved, and the quieter contribution of the majority of
young men to the safety and well-being of others is generally
unacknowledged. The vast majority of men of all ages do not
commit acts of violence against others, and the complex
dynamics of why some men do not engage in violent behaviour,
whilst others do, are poorly understood and require further
research.
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8. Next steps and moving forward
‘Research on adolescent boys, as for adolescents of both sexes, tends to focus on
problems and risks. In examining the research reviewed here, we may be left with the
impression that adolescent boys are walking problems.. The challenge is to recognize and
understand the problems and risks that boys face and the harm they sometimes do to
themselves and others without merely seeing boys in deficit terms. We must also look at
the positive ways that boys contribute to their families and societies, and identify the
potentials they represent.’
Gary Barker , What about boys? World Health Organization, 2000
As stated in the beginning the document is in its early phase of development as was designed as
a draft to spark some discussion for the conference on young men and violence: pathways to
change being held in Zagreb, Sarajevo and Belgrade. More efforts with a variety of
stakeholders both from government, civil service and the nongovernmental sector is planned
over the coming year, to better represent the current efforts and knowledge within the region.
More research is needed to the context in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. We also
want to engage in more dialogue with youth workers, youth service organizations and NGOs on
what can be done to build the skills and capacities to address these issues at a wider level. The
Young Men Initiative is developing and testing one methodology that can be scaled up in the
future with the right capacity and resources can be run in a variety of setting. Some particularly
useful recommendations came from the Council of Europe report on young people and violence
prevention outlining actions to be taken to improve the capacity of youth work with young men
around violence prevention but could include work around healthy and well being as well.
These included:
To support the further development of educational approaches to youth work with boys and young
men, and to promote the mainstreaming of this work in existing youth work practices and frameworks.17
National authorities should:
 Recognize that people have a basic human right to personal integrity and security, and that the
needs and actions of young men must be addressed within this imperative.
17
Titley, G. (2004). Young People and Violence Prevention: Youth policy recommendations, Council of Europe.
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Realize that violence prevention and youth work of this nature needs long-term funding,
commitment, time and patience to develop sustainable programs.
Commission and utilize research that analyses the needs and specific problems of boys and
young men, particularly in relation to minority experiences and socio-economic disadvantage.
Support the development of work with boys and young men and the necessary training and retraining of youth workers.
Integrate a focus on life skills, personal development and gender awareness to formal
educational curricula.
It is important that local authorities:
 Support training for youth workers in gender-mainstreaming, conflict resolution and
intercultural learning, and integrate these aspects in all relevant educational offers.
 Recognize that boys and young men need to engage in long-term development, and commit to
long-term support and funding for sustainable programs.
 Consult with young people to ensure that different gender viewpoints have an influence on the
aims and outcomes of local initiatives.
 Facilitate partnerships for relevant activities, involving boys, young men and their parents, youth
organizations and schools, and where feasible, representatives of community groups.
 Support the development of educational material that addresses issues of masculinity, gender
and non-violence and that is developed with an awareness of language and representation.
 Recognize the significance of peer influence and support the development of peer education
initiatives that offer credible alternatives to masculine stereotypes.
Youth organizations should:
 Support the emergence of youth work with boys and young men through increased training in
project management, organizational skills and educational planning and implementation.
 Strive to provide safe environments for young men to express their feelings, and monitor the
inclusiveness of their environments and work practices.
 Support peer education initiatives, particularly in partnership with formal educational
institutions and other community organizations
 Encourage and support youth workers to engage in an ongoing reflection of themselves as youth
workers, including working to achieve realistic goals and evaluating their practice.
 Ensure that youth workers be given adequate education on issues of gender, power and
sexuality, and in skills and methodology for integrating gender awareness into their work.
 Specifically address masculinity and related issues in their human rights education, and work to
address the current prevalent imbalance between physical and emotional health in general
education.
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