Men's violence must be on the agenda this Victorian election

One month out from the Victorian election, Jesuit Social Services has urged both major parties to commit to policies and investments to address current unacceptable levels of domestic, family and sexual violence and child abuse, with an emphasis on working directly with boys and men to end men’s violence and build care and healthy relationships. 

"Elections are a time to reflect on the kind of society we want to live in, which for all of us is to be part of a strong, cohesive community where everybody is safe and has the opportunity to flourish. Unfortunately, men’s violence is a crisis, with too many men perpetrating and often experiencing violence, and women and children overwhelmingly the victims. It is critical that our incoming government follows the evidence of how to best address the emergency that is men’s violence," says Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards. 

"As we get closer to the state election, we have heard the government and opposition make commitments around health care, education, transport, housing and cost of living relief. These are all important issues that impact millions of Victorians, but we are concerned that men's violence has been largely absent from the public conversation. We have extensive evidence about men’s use of violence including from the Australian Institute of Family Studies which found that 35 per cent of Australian have used intimate partner violence. These figures are aligned with our own Man Box research.  

“Through our Man Box research, highlighting the association between adherence to rigid ideas about masculinity and the use of violence, we found that more than 60 per cent who most strongly agreed with these Man Box rules self-reported having used violence against an intimate partner. The same men also had worse outcomes for their own health and wellbeing – they were more likely to have thoughts of suicide nearly every day, binge drink and show signs of problem gambling." 

In its Victorian election platform, Jesuit Social Services urges the incoming government to strengthen and scale up prevention efforts across a range of settings to reach children and young people. 

"From delivering age-appropriate respectful relationships education in early childhood settings to ensuring programs that promote healthy masculinities are accessible in non-school settings like sports clubs and youth programs, through to ensuring these programs continue to evolve to address contemporary issues like harmful pornography and image-based abuse, this work is critical in shaping the attitudes and beliefs of children and young people and ultimately preventing harm from occurring," says Ms Edwards. 

"We also want to see investment in early intervention with boys and men and expanded responses for men who use violence, to help boys and men lead healthy and fulfilling lives free from violence."