Men's violence against women and men are inter-related: Recommendations for simultaneous intervention.
Men are more likely than women to perpetrate nearly all types of interpersonal violence (e.g. intimate partner violence, murder, assault, rape). While public health programs target prevention efforts for each type of violence, there are rarely efforts that approach the prevention of violence holistically and attempt to tackle its common root causes. Drawing upon theories that explain the drivers of violence, we examine how gender norms, including norms and social constructions of masculinity, are at the root of most physical violence perpetration by men against women and against other men. We then argue that simply isolating each type of violence and constructing separate interventions for each type is inefficient and less effective. We call for recognition of the commonalities found across the drivers of different types of violence and make intervention recommendations with the goal of seeking more long-standing solutions to violence prevention.
Division of Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: pfleming@ucsd.edu.
Paul J
PJ
Fleming
Program on Global Health and Human Rights, Institute for Global Health, Keck School of Medicine and Gould School of Law, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Sofia
S
Gruskin
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Florencia
F
Rojo
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Center of Expertise on Women's Health and Empowerment, UC Global Health Institute, USA.
Shari L
SL
Dworkin
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D058025:Interdisciplinary Studies; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D057228:Masculinity; D000066550:Physical Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011634:Public Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control
Domestic violence; Interventions; Male gender norms; Masculinity; Youth violence