Dr Phillip Wadds says early intervention can challenge toxic masculinity that may have led to the recent unprovoked knife attack on a man in Pyrmont.
Australia needs to challenge toxic masculinity and steer young men away from the pressure to engage in group violence, says UNSW’s Dr Phillip Wadds.
“Preventing this type of violence is really difficult,” says the criminology expert from UNSW Arts & Social Sciences.
“A lot of group conflict, as opposed to one-on-one violence, arises spontaneously and may not have the same rules of engagement or levels of moderation.”
The best form of prevention is early intervention, particularly with programs in schools, sporting organisations and community hubs that challenge masculine norms, he says.
“And programs that try to steer young men away from feeling influenced by pressures to perform or behave in a certain way,” he says.
Dr Wadds’
