Masculinities, Empathy, Non-violence

ended

"Children's and young girls' and boy's exposure to violence can lead to the normalization of violent behaviors, including gender-based violence (GBV) and a host of mental health problems, as well as influence the use of violence as an adult. Today, the link between young men's and women's exposure to violence and its intergenerational transmission is well established. Both witnessing and being victims of violence have similar associations with aggression and violence perpetration in its multiple forms. Likewise, violence is often influenced by the institutional contexts of these young people. For example, although violence occurs in (almost) every sphere of society during adolescence (12-18 years old), it might be exacerbated in specific institutions where the risk of being exposed to violence is considerably higher than elsewhere, such as prisons, juvenile detention centers, refugee camps, etc. Most of these are hierarchical institutions that are ""rather 'sealed off' from the outside world, thus presenting themselves as a challenge to the current strategies for promoting gender equality. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened the existing gender and social inequalities and had a disproportionately negative effect on women and children, notably those already in a vulnerable situation (e.g., children with disabilities, children in poverty, children in migration). Taking this background, the X-MEN proposal will address the call's priority for preventing gender-based violence by addressing masculinities and the engagement of men and boys at risk or socially excluded in 3 EU countries (PT, ES, HR), and whose situation was aggravated by COVID-19 pandemic. X-MEN's main goal is the promotion of nonviolent masculinities and the development of strategies that break cycles of violence, contributing in this way to sustainable secondary and tertiary violence prevention, while fostering tools and interventions that aim to reduce GBV and promote gender equality."