Young Men and Violence: What We Know
- Young men are the group of people most at risk for becoming perpetrators or victims of violence. After being male, youth is the strongest predictor of violence.
- Young men and women are learning and shaping their own ideas and attitudes about social norms, behaviors, and relationships.
- Young men form attitudes and behaviors toward women, relationships, sexuality, and violence during adolescence or earlier—and these attitudes and behaviors often stay with them into adulthood.
- Research on social norms suggests that most young men are mistaken about other young men’s attitudes and behaviors. In fact, most males are uncomfortable with violence against women and with the attitudes, behaviors, and language of men who commit such violence. But young men do not act on their beliefs or express their discomfort because they falsely think that other men do not feel the same. To learn more about social norms research and its applications, see the case study, “The Social Norms Approach to Violence Prevention.”
- In many cases, young men are more willing to participate in program and service activities than adult men, and they may have more time to do so.
- Many external factors affect different groups of young men, such as experiencing or witnessing violence and various forms of social exclusion.
Reflection Questions
- In what ways do you see young men as a problem, dangerous, difficult, or prone to violence?
- What experiences or information have made you think this?
- Is it difficult for you to think of young men as solutions to gender-based violence? Why or why not?
- Can you think of ways that young men can be part of the solution for violence prevention?
Exercise
Read the exercise “The Costs of Male Training” to see how you can explore experiences of violence and abuse with groups of young men.
Go to the next section to read about how boys become men.
