Violence prevention campaigns in Australia increasingly have turned their attention to the positive roles that men and boys can play.

There is a widespread consensus that engaging men and boys is an important element of prevention efforts, reflected in both the national prevention framework “Change the Story” and the federal government’s action plan on domestic and sexual violence.

As someone who has spent more than 30 years in this field, I used to spend my time arguing for why we need to engage men and boys, but now I spend more time discussing how.

There are violence prevention efforts addressed to boys and young men in schools, fathers, male sports players and coaches and men in communities across the country.

There is a growing body of research on what works and does not work, and efforts in Australia are increasing in both scale and sophistication.

Programs and initiatives aimed at men and boys in Australia take for granted that positive, strengths-based messages are vital.

Our work should affirm the good in what men and boys do and are, emphasise how men and boys will benefit from........

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