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Call it out – what men and boys can do to end gender-based violence

We want to see a Scotland free of sexual violence, and of all forms of gender-based violence. To help us move closer to this vision, it’s essential that we involve boys and men in conversations about gender stereotypes, violence and inequality.

Sexual violence is a gendered crime. The overwhelming majority of victims of sexual violence, and domestic abuse, are women and girls. And in most cases, these crimes are perpetrated by men. Men and boys are also harmed by these attitudes, and damaging stereotypes and expectations about masculinity. These can have a devastating impact on men’s mental health. To see real change, we need to eradicate sexist and misogynistic attitudes at all levels of society.

From a young age, girls are taught how to avoid these crimes or encouraged not to ‘provoke’ men. We need to shift the focus from how women and girls can avoid being victims of these crimes to how we can make sure that boys and men do not become perpetrators or enablers of these crimes.

We’re often asked by men about what they can do to take action on gender-based violence. One of the most powerful actions male allies can take is to call out sexist and misogynistic comments, behaviour and ‘banter’ when they see it. This might be among colleagues, friends or family. These attitudes can’t be allowed to continue to be socially acceptable.

There is no hierarchy of oppression or trauma, but sexual violence exists on a spectrum. This ranges from what we might call ‘small’ acts of violence like wolf-whistling in the street and sexist jokes in social settings to harassment on public transport and to rape. These behaviours need to be challenged at every level.

This might look like telling a friend that a sexist joke is inappropriate or challenging a friend who is targeting obviously very drunk women in a social setting. Police Scotland’s Don’t Be That Guy campaign gave helpful tools and tips for starting these conversations and making these vital interventions.

Engaging with boys and young men is critical to preventing sexual violence. But children and young people cannot be expected to change cultural norms by themselves.

It’s crucial that boys and young men have access to safe and compassionate spaces where they can express their feelings and communicate about the issues that affect them and their lives, including Gender-Based Violence and the pressures they face to conform to restrictive norms around masculinity.

Our prevention programme delivers workshops in schools across Scotland on issues like consent, pornography and gender stereotypes. We know from our experience in delivering these workshops to over 122,435 young people that boys welcome the chance to discuss these crucial issues in safe and supportive spaces.

We also deliver the Equally Safe At School programme which is designed to enable school leaders and teachers to make their schools more gender equal and safe spaces for all students.

Several Rape Crisis centres also host youth activism groups, made up of young people who want to take action on gender inequality.

 One Youth Ambassador from one activism group said: “If we’re to take GBV seriously, I believe we need to empower young men, and show other young men how to seek support where needed, challenge stereotypes, and ultimately have a genuine understanding of the problems that have plagued our society for years, create a movement and change a culture.”

For true cultural change around violence against women and girls, we need to see robust and bold leadership from adult men. We need to see community and faith leaders, teachers, police officers, medical professionals, sports leaders and political leaders to actively speak out against sexual violence.