From Boys to Men: Overview and Recommendations

In 2013 the UK government began to use the terms ‘domestic abuse’ and ‘domestic violence’ interchangeably to refer to ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality’. The From Boys to Men project explored how domestic abuse and violence were featuring in the lives of young adults and teenagers, including some below the age of 16. The project surveyed young people in schools to measure the extent of their exposure to ‘domestic abuse’, the term operationalized in our questionnaires to include controlling behaviours, being checked up on and being put down, as well as physical and sexual assaults and coercion by a partner or expartner. Over half of 13-14 year olds in the sample had some direct experience of domestic abuse,whether as victims, witnesses or perpetrators. The research found that most young people think that it is wrong to hit a partner, but many can think of exceptions to this rule, most typically when a partner has hit them first or cheated on them. Boys are more likely than girls to endorse such exceptions. Both boys and girls regarded violence from women to men as more socially acceptable than violence perpetrated by men against women.