Cultural messages that say masculinity is about violence and violence is erotic promote a rape culture. Men can help prevent rape by challenging friends, co-workers, and family members when they tell sexist jokes, share stories that glorify rape and demean women, or use rape as a threat. Men can intervene in situations in which they observe dangerous behavior by asking a woman whether she needs assistance and by preventing men from assaulting women who cannot at that moment speak for themselves. Men can convey the message that rape is not cool or sexy but is, in fact, abusive, humiliating and degrading to women, and a failure in masculine self-control on the part of men who commit it. Moreover, men can support each other in not falling into traps of gender socialization, and in living their lives as emotionally aware, nurturing, respectful, empowered people without the need to dominate or control others.
Men can unlearn victim-blaming ideologies.
Women do not ask for, deserve, or enjoy rape. Men who know a woman who has survived a sexual assault need to know that the person who raped the woman he cares about is responsible for commiting a crime against her. Like survivors of other crimes, survivors of sexual assault have not in any way caused crimes to be committed against them. From their friends, family, and significant others, survivors need non-judgemental support and respect for their decisions about how best to heal from the assault. Men are raped, too.