Building men's commitment to ending sexual violence against women

Efforts to prevent sexual violence against women and girls now increasingly take as given that they must engage men and boys. The theater-based intervention described in the previous issue of Feminism & Psychology (Rich, 2010) is one of a wave of programmes and strategies focused on males. Using that intervention as a springboard, this article asks : why should we engage men and boys in preventing violence against women, what strategies are under way and do they work? Educational interventions among males often invite them to become active or pro-social bystanders, taking action to stop the perpetration of specific incidents of violence, reduce the risks of violence escalating and strengthen the conditions that work against violence occurring (Powell, 2010: 6-7). However, engaging men in challenging rape-supportive norms and behaviors is hard work. This article concludes by discussing the barriers to, and supports for, men's bystander interventions