The Gen Y youth violence problem is so severe that I have gone on the road with a series of seminars beginnng in Maroochydore on the 14th followed by Port Macquarie on February the 20 th. Since most of the offenders are males the problem has its roots in gender programming. I’ll be asking good men from sporting communities to find solutions to youth violence.There is increasing violence in all states which is demanding the urgent attention of government, education and police agencies. Read more »

Many young boys and men have a need for excitement and to feel that they are ‘real men.’ Youth gangs, which appear to be attracting younger and younger members, are largely male.

In a scary and confused world, some boys find a sense of security and family within the gang formation. In a society that does not honour transitions or rites of passage, some boys find those rituals inside a gang. Tests of courage are earned by defying authorities, vandalising, stealing or fighting—in some cases by partaking in senseless acts of gratuitous violence. Read more »

One man’s solutions to juvenile terrorism; the rising violence among boys and young men -written by Grace Gawler

“Perhaps it takes a whole society to raise one violent boy,” says sustainable-masculinity advocate, Pip Cornall, who, after more than two decades working to prevent violence in the USA and Australia, is appalled by the rising youth violence in the Tweed-Byron area.

When asked if we can solve the problem of gang violence he relied, “Sure we can. Repeatedly, in workshops with gang members when we help them drop the  “tough guise,” there is a vulnerable boy with terrible self esteem hiding there. Once we identify the root causes we can design solutions—solutions of an immediate nature and the longer term preventative ones.” Read more »