Calling men toxic may feel good, but it won’t save a single boy from the ‘manosphere’

Treatment programs are often located within victim-survivor organizations, making objectivity difficult and allowing vicarious trauma to spread unchecked. The Duluth hypothesis is accepted as fact, despite significant research showing that other factors (trauma history, personality disorders, general antisocial attitudes, emotional dysregulation, alcohol and drug use, stress, etc.) are also highly influential.

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Earlier in my career I worked on the front line in domestic violence services. There, discussing any of these factors was labeled as “excusing” the perpetrator, and many in the industry angrily expressed concern that psychologists were “colluding” with perpetrators. Of course we don’t do this. But we try to understand behavior and meet someone where they are at.

A recent white paper on primary prevention by Professor Mike Salter and journalist Jess Hill highlighted the need to move away from the primary prevention model and focus on intervention approaches.

This was met with anger within the industry, with angry messages flying back and forth and accusations of a lack of support or a betrayal of core principles. The responses themselves highlighted some of the problems: approaches based on emotion and ideology, a lack of engagement with emerging research, misuse of the evidence base, and a refusal to incorporate the knowledge of those best qualified to work with perpetrators.

In May, the federal government launched a rapid review of prevention approaches following the publication of a white paper and domestic and gender-based violence deaths across Australia. But the review panel did not include any experts in behavior modification or forensic psychology, and as a result, some proposed interventions (such as regulating the age of access to online pornography) have no evidentiary basis. These interventions may make us feel effective, but they are unlikely to reduce the incidence of domestic violence.

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So the response from many in the industry, including myself, to the Victorian government’s announcement on Respectful Relationships was not entirely positive.

This seems like a positive step in the right direction, and it makes parents feel safe knowing their children will receive lessons on how to recognize hate speech, coercive control, and toxic masculinity online. However, there is currently no evidence to suggest that these classes will actually have the desired long-term results.

We know that negative labeling is largely ineffective in adults. It is difficult to do the same with children and have their peers and teachers apply labels the moment they step into the classroom. Young men need other approaches, and potential future victims of these young men’s anger deserve other approaches as well.