Violence against women is a major problem: almost half of Dutch women experience physical or sexual violence. Men are responsible for the vast majority of violent incidents.

Violence is strongly linked to social norms and ideas about men and masculinity. This makes violence a men’s problem and a masculinity problem. And it would make sense to start with men if we are to prevent violence.

Although the vast majority of perpetrators of violence are men, the vast majority of men are not perpetrators. It is precisely this group that can and must contribute to the prevention of violence.

Violence is strongly linked to masculinity norms: the way men learn that they have to be men. In order to prevent violence, we focus on raising awareness and on normalising intervention, but especially on broadening and transforming those norms.