Men's Work: Men's Voices and Actions against Sexism and Violence

SUMMARY

This short article details the initial findings from a 3-month conversation between 21 male activists who work to prevent violence against women. Using Participatory Action Research methodology, this research project investigates what men who do this work would like to learn from other men who do this work. To date, no research has been done that examines what it is that motivates and sustains men who work, as their primary effort, to prevent men's violence against women. This article examines some of the initial findings from this research, and examines the implications for engaging and mobilizing other men to prevent men's violence against women. This article begins with a description of the research project, followed by an overview of the findings, continues with a discussion of the implications from these initial findings for preventing men's violence against women, and ends with some lessons learned from the process of this research project and a brief overview of the next step of this conversation.

KEYWORDS:

• Men's involvement
• participatory action research
• preventing men's violence
• profeminist

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Rus Ervin Funk, MSW, is a consultant and activist based in Louisville, KY. He currently sits on the Boards of Directors of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Resource Center on Sexual and Domestic Violence. His latest writings are “Queer Men and Sexual Assault: What Being Raped Says about Being a Man” in C. Kendall and W. Martino, Gendered Outcasts and Sexual Outlaws (2006, Haworth Press); and Reaching Men: Strategies for Preventing Sexist Attitudes, Behaviors and Violence (2006, Jist Publications).

Notes

The author thanks Victoria Banyard for the invitation to submit this article and for kick-starting this research project; and Amy Mudd, Rita Valade, Nigel Pizzini, and Cesar Alvarado for their support and editorial comments. Finally, a big thank-you to the men who participated. You all are an inspiration to me. Thank you!

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rus Ervin Funk

Rus Ervin Funk, MSW, is Consultant, co-Founder, and Executive Director of MENSWORK: eliminating violence against women, inc.