Masculinities and Covid 19
A new report, Masculinities and Covid 19, by Sandy Ruxton and Stephen Burrell for Promundo, has been published. The report provides an evidence-based overview of key issues in relation to men, masculinities, and COVID-19, setting these within a gendered approach. It explores the impact of COVID-19 on men and women in different social groups and sets out principles and recommendations for policymakers and other decision-makers to take masculinities issues into account in response to the crisis. The report was written between May and July 2020, during the pandemic, and is therefore a snapshot of evolving events in different countries at a particular point in time.
Covering a wide range of issues, including in the higher Covid related death rate amongst men, the impact on mental health and the way in which the pandemic is deepening existing inequalities, the report also examines the increase in violence and abuse against women. It states how by leaving many victims trapped at home with their abusers, COVID-19 has compounded the already hugely prevalent levels of gender-based violence in societies across the world. During COVID-19 lockdowns, some forms of crime appear to have gone down. However, this is not the case for forms of violence that take place primarily in the home, such as intimate partner violence and child abuse. The attention toward domestic violence during the pandemic represents a crucial opportunity to engage with more men and boys about the positive role they can play in helping to end gender-based violence.
Going on to describe how in recent years, gender-based violence online and facilitated by technology has proliferated, and this appears to have increased during lockdowns as many people spend more time than ever on the Internet. Online sexual harassment and abuse is a massive issue amidst the pandemic; for example, reports of online abuse (including cyberbullying, image-based sexual abuse, and sex-based extortion) to the Australian eSafety Commissioner increased by 40 percent in March.2 The pandemic may have, thus, increased opportunities and motivations for some men to exert power and control over women and children.
The full report can be read here
Sandy Ruxton is an independent policy advisor and researcher and an honorary research fellow in the Department of Sociology at Durham University (United Kingdom). He has undertaken research contracts on men and masculinities for a wide range of organizations, including the European Institute for Gender Equality, the European Women’s Lobby, Oxfam, the Open University, the British Council, and the UK Government Equalities Office (with Prof. Nicole Westmarland and Dr. Stephen Burrell). He is currently collaborating on another project led by Durham University with researchers in Sweden and Spain on why some men take a public stance against men’s violence against women. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the nongovernmental alliance MenEngage Europe. Contact: sandy.ruxton@durham.ac.uk - www.linkedin.com/in/sandyruxton/ - Twitter: @SandyRuxton
Dr. Stephen Burrell is currently undertaking an Economic and Social Research Council-funded postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Sociology at Durham University. His work focuses on critical studies on men and masculinities, and he completed his PhD on engaging men and boys in the prevention of men’s violence against women in 2019. He has also recently carried out research with Prof. Nicole Westmarland and Sandy Ruxton for the UK Government Equalities Office about the impacts of masculine gender norms in the United Kingdom today. Stephen is actively involved in Durham University’s Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse and is a member of the MenEngage Alliance. Contact: s.r.burrell@durham.ac.uk - www.durham.ac.uk/criva - Twitter: @the_daily_panda