What can be done to stop mens violence against women?
Men are as caught up in traditional gender roles just as women are. Many violent men come from families with violent fathers. This is not to excuse their violence, which of course is wrong, but they need help to understand why they turn to violence when they feel upset. It is often to do with patterns they have learnt in childhood-they have never learnt to deal with their frustrations in other ways. There are various initiatives now in different parts of the countries where men have learnt to unlearn violence- and have seen that they can still be real men. They have learnt that their own lives have improved, as well as the lives of their friends and families around them.
Men are as caught up in traditional gender roles as women are. Many violent men come from families with violent fathers or with absent fathers. This is true anywhere – just ask the young men who are excluded from school, or who end up in prison in the UK. This isn’t to excuse their violence, which of course is wrong. But they need help to understand why they turn to violence when they feel upset. It’s often to do with patterns they have learnt in childhood – they’ve never learnt – or been taught – to deal with their frustrations in other ways. There are various initiatives now in different countries in Africa and Nicaragua where men have learnt to unlearn violence – and have seen that they can still be real men. They have learnt that their own lives have improved, as well as the lives of their friends and families around them.
