Gender norms and the wellbeing of girls and boys

Gender and health has become an area of major research policy focus.1Hawkes S Allotey P Elhadj AS Clark J Horton R The Lancet Commission on Global Health.Lancet. 2020; 396: 521-522Summary Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar Elissa Kennedy colleagues' meticulous study2Kennedy E Binder G Humphries-Waa K et al.Gender inequalities in wellbeing across the first two decades life: analysis 40 low-income middle-income countries Asia-Pacific region.Lancet Glob Health. 8: e1473-e1488Summary (14) health-based gender experienced by young people region offers timely insights. Underscoring burden shouldered adolescent girls women, their study also shines a light boys men. We support urgent call for focus males to address gender-related disparities. Harmful masculine norms have profound lifelong outcomes risks men.3Courtenay WH Constructions masculinity influence men's well-being: theory health.Soc Sci Med. 2000; 501385Crossref (2404) Addressing these aspects requires break normative man code—ie, set male-specific expectations, pressures, behaviours largely policed peers elders, which demands conformity silence suppression vulnerable emotions, enactments power, invincibility, risk-taking. One approach this harmful code is work directly with communities shift behaviours;4Heise L Greene ME Opper N inequality restrictive norms: framing challenges health.Lancet. 2019; 393: 2440-2454Summary (197) however, there are few published studies programmes that do so boys. A 2019 review Gwyther colleagues5Gwyther Swann Casey Purcell Rice SM Developing through community school-based programs: systematic review.PLoS One. 14: 1-20Crossref (8) male-focused school identified English-language studies, but only 14 were sensitive or transformative. In past 5 years been groundswell men Australia. Most Gwyther's Australian, we aware four more recent ongoing evaluations: our cluster RCT (ACTRN12620001134910) education programme Breaking Man Code, evaluations others ACT's Silence Deadly (ACTRN12617000658314), national Cave Ahead Game. Australian social enterprise Tomorrow runs Code interrogate associated particular norms, encouraging redefinition practices. Positive harnessed empower lasting changes attitudes. Our examines effectiveness programme. This trial Game evaluation part larger project, Buoy Project, advances male suicide prevention Australia interventions delivered where they work, live, play. sensitised place-based culturally appropriate approaches be developed, implemented, evaluated other countries, including beyond. Without such boys, opportunity intervene before crystallises lost. issue can alter otherwise entrenched generational effects health-related inequality. declare no competing interests. regionThese findings programming later childhood early adolescence embedded. Full-Text Open AccessGender boysElissa colleagues (December, 2020)1 described emergence disparities life, arguing caused norms. framework1 implicitly presupposes that, just society, females would show equal every metric considered. expectation at odds vast body sex differences psychobehavioural traits life humans species. – Author's replyWe pleased Article1 generated interest discussion, around need include policy, programming, research. Access