Meeting Youth Where They Are: Engaging Boys and Young Men in Digital Spaces to Prevent Gender-Based Violence

Digital spaces are central to how many young people build relationships, explore identity, find community and access information. While these spaces can foster belonging and connection, they can also reinforce harmful gender norms, facilitate cyberviolence and amplify misogynistic and other harmful content.

Against a backdrop of heightened concern about online misogyny, gender-based violence and the influence of harmful digital communities, there is an urgent need to understand how prevention efforts can meaningfully engage boys and young men in the spaces they already occupy.

This special event brings together three organizations advancing work at the intersection of boys and young men, digital spaces and gender-based violence prevention. Drawing on approaches that include online community building, youth-centred education, digital media and public engagement, presenters will share insights from their work to foster healthy masculinities, strengthen young people’s critical engagement with online content and contribute to safer and more inclusive digital communities.