Depoliticising anti-violence work 4/9

One of the ongoing debates about violence prevention more generally and engaging men in this work specifically, is how explicitly feminist specific campaigns should be. The level of commitment to feminist analyses and the particular form of feminism adopted will shape the ways in which accountability is understood and operationalised. I have noted previously that one of the dangers of men’s increased involvement in violence prevention is the deradicalisation of feminist analyses of men’s violence against women (Pease 2008). This may also reflect the de-radicalisation of feminism more widely

This de-radicalisation of feminism is evident in Emma Watson’s speech launching the HeforShe campaign at the United Nations. She argued that men have not been extensively involved in work toward gender equality because they have not been invited. This speech evoked numerous critiques from feminist journalists, activists and academics. Clementine Ford (2014), for example, criticised her focus on men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes and her argument that men’s freedom from these stereotypes was the foundation for women’s freedom. Rosie Fletcher (2016), also in critiquing Emma Watson’s speech, expresses concern that attempts to engage men in such ways as this soften feminism to make it more palatable to men.

There is an inevitable tension between mainstreaming campaigns against men’s violence against women and moving away from social movement politics. This tension is reflected in the differences between the more professionalised public health approach to violence prevention and the activist social movement politics of the women’s movement.  Engaging men in the context of professionalised programs and paid occupations in the violence against women sector may shift the focus away from more politicised social movement politics (Messner et al. 2015). There is also a concern about male allies making money and developing careers out of this work. Issues have been raised about men becoming private consultants in violence prevention work and using their involvement in these activities to develop highly paid careers (Messner et al. 2015).

 It is important to be mindful about how organisations that support violence prevention can use their involvement primarily as a public relations exercise rather than seriously tackling the structural causes of men’s violence against women. When sporting clubs, military organisations and male-dominated workplaces develop prevention programs with men, they need to interrogate the ways that gender inequalities are embedded in their structures and cultures, if their practical steps are to contribute to major structural transformation (Messner et al. 2015).

https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/WhiteRibbonResearchPaper_LR.pdf