Men & Boys
Violence & Masculinity
Are we talking about men and violence in the right way?
Violence committed by men is a serious issue, particularly in domestic and sexual violence. Prevention has to involve men and boys.
But there is an important distinction between challenging harmful behaviour and treating being male as though it is itself a risk factor that needs correcting.
Men can be perpetrators — and victims
Men are disproportionately represented among perpetrators of some serious violence, but they are also disproportionately victims of other forms of violence.
In England and Wales, 70% of homicide victims in the year ending March 2025 were male. Office for National Statistics
Domestic abuse is another example. Women experience it at higher rates, but the ONS estimates that 1.5 million men aged 16 and over also experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2025. Office for National Statistics
That complexity matters.
What about boys and young men?
Boys need conversations about consent, relationships, anger, respect and violence. But they also need somewhere to discuss fear, loneliness, identity, relationships and expectations around masculinity.
Online influences add another dimension. Ofcom's research into the so-called manosphere found a complicated mixture of communities around self-improvement, masculinity and gender politics, with some spaces also promoting misogynistic ideas. It found socially isolated men could be particularly vulnerable to harmful closed online communities. www.ofcom.org.uk
OUR ANSWER
We should challenge male violence strongly — without making masculinity itself the problem.
Prevention works better when it addresses behaviour: coercion, aggression, entitlement, disrespect and violence.
At the same time, men and boys need positive examples of masculinity, healthy relationships, responsibility and ways of dealing with pressure without violence.
The conversation should be about what people do, not simply what sex they are.
The figures
70%
of homicide victims in England and Wales were male in the year ending March 2025.
1.5 million
men aged 16+ were estimated to have experienced domestic abuse in the same year.