Authors: Hansen, B., & Wells, L.

Date: October 2018

With the highly visible movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp there has been increased attention on the role men can play in violence prevention. Locally, we heard from various leaders throughout the violence prevention sector that more men are trying to access local domestic and sexual violence supports and services. Representatives from several agencies and institutions also told us they are experiencing challenges with how to design and offer programs and supports for men, how to create strategies within their organizations to engage and work with men, and how to curate organizational cultures to integrate men into workplaces traditionally dominated by women. In response to these conversations, in 2018, Shift launched a research project to collect information to help identify high-priority and emergent service/capacity gaps related to men’s violence prevention needs with the hope of mobilizing government and community partners to more effectively address these gaps here in Calgary, Alberta. More specifically, the goal of the research project was to better understand who is seeking services, what are these men asking for, and how can the human service sector develop or enhance services to better support their needs while furthering the goal of violence prevention. From June to July 2018, Shift undertook a series of interviews with key individuals working in the Calgary domestic and sexual violence sector to better understand these challenges and to identify possible solutions to more effectively support men across the violence prevention continuum (men as victims, perpetrators, allies, leaders and violence disrupters).