Report launch: What If We Lead with Compassion, Care and Accountability?

Para consultas de los medios de comunicación, comuníquese con: press@equimundo.org

May 2026 – A new informe from Equimundo argues that preventing men’s violence against women and girls requires a fundamental shift in how societies engage men and boys, moving beyond punishment and blame alone toward approaches rooted in care, compassion, empathy, and accountability.

Produced for the MenCare Changemaker Summit 2026, What If We Lead with Compassion, Care and Accountability? examines how “caring masculinities” can help prevent violence, strengthen relationships, and advance gender equality. Written by Professor Michael Flood with Gary Barker, Giovanna Lauro, and Taveeshi Gupta, the report draws on decades of global research on violence prevention, masculinity, fatherhood, and care work.

El informe highlights the scale of violence globally, noting that close to one billion women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate male partner or sexual violence by a non-partner. It argues that while men and boys must be central to prevention efforts because they overwhelmingly perpetrate this violence, they must also be engaged as caregivers, allies, community members, and stakeholders in creating safer societies.

A caring masculinities lens offers powerful tools for this work, foregrounding care, empathy, relationality, and interdependence as core to how men understand themselves and engage with others,” the report states.

The report advances what it describes as a “dual call to action”:

• Men must actively reject violence and practice empathy, accountability, and respect
• Communities and institutions must also care for men and boys by creating the emotional, social, and structural supports that enable non-violent lives

The report also argues that care itself should be understood as a violence prevention strategy.

“Applying a care lens to violence prevention produces four practical orientations,” the authors write, including building empathy, strengthening relational accountability, centering survivor wellbeing, and addressing structural inequalities that normalize harm and dominance.

“Given the extent of men’s experiences of and use of violence, it is easy to believe that violence is the default for manhood,” the report concludes. “A care lens applied to violence prevention allows us to see the ways men and boys already care, the care they need and the care they can and want to provide.”

About the report:

What If We Lead with Compassion, Care and Accountability? was produced by Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice as part of the MenCare Changemaker Journey. The report was written by Professor Michael Flood with Gary Barker, Giovanna Lauro, and Taveeshi Gupta and launched during the MenCare Changemaker Summit 2026 in Rio de Janeiro.

The report explores how care-centered approaches can strengthen global efforts to prevent gender-based violence and foster healthier, more equitable forms of masculinity.

Lea el informe completo aquí.

¿Tienes preguntas o quieres cubrir esta historia?

Contáctenos en press@equimundo.org