Australia was a less violent society at the end of the twentieth century than it was at the end of the nineteenth century. Yet, violence is a major part of some people’s, notably young men’s, lives. The office of the Minister for Justice and Customs initiated consultation with a group of young men from around Australia. The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) facilitated this consultation with 22 young men and 10 youth workers in Canberra on 15-16 December 1999 to examine their experience of violence as perpetrators, victims, or both. This paper begins by outlining issues the young men raised at the consultation. It then proceeds to discuss violence and how it relates to young men, effective means of violence prevention, and promising areas for policy development and program implementation.
The consultation upon which this paper is based found that young men identified relations with police as a problem. The young men perceived a need to access anger management courses and recreational and sporting facilities and wished that drugs were less available. The AIC is examining these issues and building them into the work program.