Following another series of alleged killings of women across Australia, the country has once again found itself asking familiar questions: how many more women have to die before we act? What more should governments do? Why does this violence keep happening?

These questions are both understandable and necessary. The immediate priorities are clear: protecting women at risk, ensuring perpetrators are held accountable, investing in specialist services, and strengthening the systems that respond to domestic and family violence.

But if we are serious about preventing future violence, we should also ask a different question: how do we stop men being violent in the first place?

As I outline in a new report, one measure that would help is encouraging more men to be caring.

This is not a substitute for the many evidence-based approaches already used to prevent men’s violence against women. Nor is it a soft alternative to accountability.

Rather, it’s an important and underdeveloped part of prevention that deserves more attention.

Making over masculinity

Violence prevention has traditionally focused on reducing risk factors: changing harmful patriarchal norms, teaching respectful relationships, and building more gender-equitable communities.

These strategies matter, and there is good evidence they can make a difference.

However, a growing body of research suggests another complementary pathway. Rather than........

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