Engaging Boys and Young Men in the Prevention of Sexual Violence – A systematic and global review of evaluated interventions

Violence against women is a widespread issue, one that exists in all cultural and socio-economic contexts. Among the various forms of violence that girls and women suffer, rape is often the least visible and least reported. While the underlying causes of sexual violence are multiple and complex, among the core causes are unequal gender norms and power dynamics between men and women. Throughout the world, boys and men are largely the perpetrators of sexual violence, and girls and women are the victims. It is increasingly understood that men’s use of violence is generally a learned behavior, rooted in the ways that boys and men are socialized. In this context, it is necessary to reach boys and young men (and girls and young women) with programs that address sexual violence. The objectives of this systematic review are to investigate the effectiveness of interventions for preventing boy’s and young men’s use of sexual violence, and to explore the potential for intervening directly with boys and young men in community and school settings to address risk factors for sexual violence within diverse socio-cultural settings. The interventions in this review are those aimed at changing general attitudes and behaviors. This paper was commissioned by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, and funded by the OAK Foundation.