Calling All Men
10 Things Men Can Do to Prevent Gender Violence
1. Approach gender violence as a men's issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or potential offenders, but as empowered bystanders and possible allies who can confront abusive peers.
2. If a brother, friend, classmate, or team-mate is abusing his female partner - or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general - don't look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it. Urge him to seek help. Or if you don't know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counselor. DON'T REMAIN SILENT.
3. Have the courage to look inward. Question your own attitudes. Don't be defensive when something you do or say ends up hurting someone else. Try hard to understand how your own attitudes and actions might inadvertently perpetuate sexism and violence, and work toward changing them.
4. If you suspect that a woman close to you is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, gently ask if you can help.
5. If you are emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually abusive to women, or have been in the past, seek professional help NOW.
6. Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence. Support the efforts of campus and community-based women's centers. Attend "Take Back the Night" rallies and other public events. Raise money for rape crisis centers and domestic violence programs. If you belong to a team or fraternity, or another student group, organize a fundraiser.
7. Recognize and speak out against homophobia and gay-bashing. Discrimination and violence against lesbians and gays are wrong in and of themselves. This abuse also has direct links to sexism (e.g., the sexual orientation of men who speak out against sexism is often questioned, a conscious or unconscious strategy intended to silence them. This is a key reason few men speak out).
8. Attend programs, take courses, watch films, and read articles and books about multicultural masculinities, gender inequality, and the root causes of gender violence. Educate yourself and others about how larger social forces affect the conflicts between individual men and women.
9. Don't fund sexism. Refuse to purchase any magazine, rent any video, subscribe to any web site, or buy any music that portray women or girls in a sexually degrading or abusive manner. Protest sexism in the media.
10. Mentor and teach boys about how to be men in ways that don't involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Lead by example.
*This information is from MVP Strategies, a gender violence prevention, education, and training organization*
