Men and Boys Snapshot

Speech transcript

When I started as Australia’s first Commissioner for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, one message came through loud and clear, from every community I visited: work with our men and boys. From Alice Springs to every corner of Australia, this urgent call has shaped our approach.

Today, I am releasing a snapshot on engaging with men and boys on addressing domestic, family and sexual violence, based on the advice and feedback provided by countless people to the Commission over the past few years. Engaging men and boys isn't just important - it's essential to ending gendered violence. The statistics are confronting. In national surveys - more than one in three Australian men report that having used intimate partner violence in their lifetime - that's up from one in four just a decade ago. 

But here's what gives me hope: most men are not violent. This tells us that change is possible.

We’re all aware of seeing alarming trends. Young men are increasingly finding communities online where their uncertainty about life gets weaponised into resentment and hatred toward women. Young people are increasing learning about sex from the violent pornography that they are seeing.

Engaging with men and boys does not mean diverting attention, services or funding from people facing violence. 

When it comes to domestic family and sexual violence, it is predominantly women and children who are most impact by men’s violence. Our work must always centre them, while holding those who perpetrate violence accountable.

What does effective engagement look like? It starts with acknowledging men’s diversity, using strengths-based language that encourages participation. We’ve heard from young men that terms like "toxic masculinity" push away the very people we need to reach. We need to expand beyond traditional men's behaviour change programs and build a web of accountability across our entire service system. This includes training frontline workers - teachers, coaches, health professionals - to recognise and respond. We must learn from First Nations communities understanding of violence, the ways that it affects everyone - it's a whole-of-family, whole-of-community issue where everyone has a role in creating safety.

This snapshot provides a summary of expert advice given to the Commission. It doesn’t provide all the answers, nor does intend to address every issue. What we aim to do is contribute to the development of a shared understanding of what it means to work with men and boys on addressing domestic, family and sexual violence, and how we can create safer families and safer communities.

I look forward to progressing this critical work with you.