Aktuelle Projekte

Domestic violence, in particular the murder of women in Austria, is a very urgent and serious problem that occurs periodically. The Dachverband Männerarbeit Österreich sees it as its duty to tackle this problem with all its expertise and professionalism. Here, hegemonic male social relations and, as their real manifestation, violence-orientated masculinities are seen as the main justifying factor for the use of domestic violence by men against people in their social environment (e.g. partners, children).

The Ministry of Social Affairs has recognised the need in this area and supports the DMÖ's violence prevention counselling for men. These projects are categorised as primary violence prevention. The aim is to create a range of men's counselling services throughout Austria that reach men at a low-threshold level and at an early stage in order to prevent escalating conflicts, violent developments and behaviour that endangers others and themselves. The aim of the funding programme is to ensure that counselling options for men are as easily accessible as possible in all federal states.

Men's counselling is professional psychosocial counselling in individual or group settings, which is aimed at men and male adolescents and covers a wide range of topics (health, partnership, sexuality, victim experiences, work, professional problems, social isolation and problem situations, family problems, partnership conflicts, separation, divorce, custody, violent behaviour within and outside the family, etc.).

Violence prevention is also a field of work for many institutions organised in the DMÖ. Violence prevention can take place prior to acts of violence and prevent violence from occurring in the first place (primary prevention); in this context, activities that promote identities and self-concepts in which destructive and violence-affine components are unlikely to occur can be regarded as violence prevention. Particular attention must be paid to target groups that are otherwise difficult to reach, for example due to social disadvantage, language barriers or residential location (e.g. in rural areas). Low-threshold is therefore a key criterion for reaching these target groups in particular.

Men's counselling, which aims to ensure that critical situations such as separation, divorce, custody conflicts etc. are handled in a constructive and de-escalating manner, fulfils a primary violence prevention function in a special sense. Such situations often form the context in which men's violent behaviour occurs. Men's counselling in an anonymous and confidential setting is the appropriate violence prevention approach in this context.

Against this background, the services offered by the members of the DMÖ as part of this project focus on primary prevention and thus on violence-preventive (and low-threshold) counselling for men.

Gender-sensitive work with boys and lads is an important and essential tool in the prevention of violence. In Austria, there are very well qualified specialists, institutions and organisations for this purpose. In the workshops with boys and lads, violence-promoting and hegemonic images of masculinity are addressed and worked on together with the boys. There is still a lot of pressure in male peer groups to follow certain "toxic" images of masculinity in order to gain recognition among their peers. In many ways, these images of masculinity contain attitudes that promote violence, for example by concealing and suppressing feelings associated with weakness or unmanliness, or the real and/or symbolic staging of male superiority over women and girls (as well as over boys and men who cannot or do not want to conform to hegemonic images of masculinity).

In the everyday practice of many men, the fantasised and real social position of power is expressed by attacking women or devalued forms of masculinity in words and/or actions, violating boundaries, sexual assault, etc. Clarifying what and how violence - especially in its references to women - can be named, how this violence occurs in reality, etc., is the basis for raising awareness of the boys'/boys' own behaviour. As much as these images of men are in a state of flux, it is nevertheless necessary to reflect on and emphasise anew that dominant behaviour and images of men that dominate and determine women are in urgent need of change - as are social structures that perpetuate the oppression and discrimination of women.

In the joint work with the boys and lads, the aim is to make it possible to experience and discuss these harmful effects of masculinity stereotypes and to develop emancipatory and equality-orientated images of being a boy/boy/man in the workshops. The consideration of low-threshold approaches, intersectional and transcultural approaches is one of the cross-cutting issues and competences here in order to also reach groups that develop violent 'protest masculinities' as a reaction to marginalisation. At the same time, experience shows that boys/boys also report their own experiences of violence in the family in the workshops. This means that there is always a direct preventative connection in the area of violence against women. Where possible, cooperation is also sought with girls' and women's work and with victim protection organisations.

The funds budgeted in the project "Violence-preventing work with boys and lads" are intended to ensure that the expertise from the work with men/boys has a broad impact. Boys/boys should learn to deal with negative feelings without violence, recognise forms of violence and develop a clear stance against violence against women (and men too, of course). The range of measures should be adapted to local circumstances, target groups and current needs and can range from workshops and peer programmes to participatory projects. If necessary, individual discussions and counselling for boys can also take place.

The measures that comprise violence prevention work with boys are diverse in this area and can include the following:

• School workshops on violence prevention
• School work with boys (social work, boys' lessons, etc.)
• Violence prevention workshops outside of school
• Work with refugee boys in institutions
• Counselling services for violence prevention (young people, parents, caregivers)
• Preventive anti-violence work for boys in an ongoing group setting at a men's counselling centre
• Group work with boys whose mothers are in women's refuges
• Journal service for young people (counselling for boys)
• Low-threshold counselling for boys via Instagram and messenger services
• Individual counselling for boys
• And much more.