Teaching Boys to Heal, Not Harm: Dr. Chuka Emezue on Preventing Violence Through Public Health
Real change occurs when we listen, truly listen, to survivors and those working alongside survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) every day.
That’s the heart of our Ask the Expert series: a chance to tell the stories, insights, and hard-won wisdom of people working to combat IPV in all its forms. In this feature, we hear from our friend Chuka Emezue, PhD, MPH, MPA, CHES about his passion for and work in violence prevention.
About Dr. Chuka Emezue
Chuka Emezue is a nurse scientist, public health researcher, and Assistant Professor at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago. Chuka is helping redefine what it means to prevent violence before it starts, particularly among boys and men.
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
This quote from Frederick Douglass resonates with Chuka and guides his professional and personal life. He says, “It is a bit grim, yes, but I have found it to be profoundly true—as a man finding his own way, and as a boy Dad trying to be the best me for him.”
Chuka’s research is “all about understanding what drives interpersonal violence, and what helps stop it”. His approach is synonyms for personal. “I was an angry child, an angry youth, surrounded by angry male role models,” he says. “As someone who has navigated these schemas of masculinity, I am deeply invested in understanding how systems, histories, genetics, social learning, and trauma shape the lives of boys and men.”
Currently based in Chicago, Chuka is an Assistant Professor at Rush University College of Nursing, where he designs community-based and digital health interventions aimed at preventing violence across the lifespan, with a focus on boys and men who use or survive violence.
From rage to research
Chuka’s professional path began with lived experience and evolved into a passion for evidence-based, community-informed solutions.
“What drew me to violence prevention work is both professional and personal,” Chuka explains. “I went to a brutal boarding school. I’ve seen firsthand the impact of silence, stigma, and structural neglect.” Today, his work includes mobile apps, web platforms, school-based and clinic-based programs “to prevent violence before it starts, and where violence has already occurred, to interrupt its cycle and support healing”.
He believes violence prevention is not only possible, but also an investment in the future. “Culturally grounded, evidence-based interventions can offer more than harm reduction and semantics. They can offer hope.”
Small wins and heavy days
For Chuka, the joy in his work comes from breakthroughs; the moments when change feels tangible.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my work is when a student from our internship program returns asking for a recommendation for a program I suggested. Or when youth in our boot camps present powerful group projects on ending violence and improving mental health.” He adds, “Recently, it is also deeply validating to see our BrotherlyACT app reduce aggression and shift attitudes toward guns.”
But the work can also be heartbreaking.
“The hard part is seeing the worst aspects of humanity in this work. On those days, it is easy to feel disheartened. But the small wins, the growth, the second chances—remind me why this work matters.”
“It still haunts me.”
While Chuka has witnessed powerful transformation in his work, there are also painful experiences etched in his memory. “There was a young man, also a young dad, who was part of a domestic violence program I was co-facilitating,” Chuka shares. “He had made such meaningful progress, and I had high hopes for him. But just as he was nearing the end of the program, he made a decision that completely contradicted everything he had worked toward. He was jailed for it, and that has cascaded over time to DV charges.”
“It still haunts me,” he says. “I could not shake the feeling that we had not done enough, that I had not done enough. Sometimes, when the work gets heavy and the setbacks feel personal, I remind myself that change is not linear.”
Using myPlan to meet people where they are
Before becoming a professor, Chuka worked for several years as a research assistant with the myPlan team. An experience he calls “life-changing”.
“It was inspiring to work alongside people who not only understood the complexity of the problem but were actively developing solutions that worked,” he says. “I am a solver by nature, and being part of a team that shared that mindset was incredibly energizing.”
He says myPlan reshaped the way he thinks about violence prevention. “Reaching people despite the systems that often fail them is, in many ways, a radical thing to do. The app showed me what it means to meet survivors where they are, with tools that are accessible, respectful, and empowering.”
“And the team, those relationships meant the world. They cared deeply for each other, for me, and for the work. It was, without a doubt, the most meaningful three years of my doctoral journey.” (Aww thanks buddy!🥹)
What the public still doesn’t understand when it comes to IPV
Chuka wishes people could grasp how expansive intimate partner violence really is. “I wish more people understood that IPV does not only happen in moments of rage or in homes that look a certain way,” Chuka says. “It happens quietly, systematically, and across every zip code.”
Chuka continues, “I wish they knew that men can be both harmed by and responsible for violence, and that accountability and care are not mutually exclusive. That healing from IPV is rarely linear, and that we can interrupt these cycles long before crisis lines are called or arrests are made.”
Enhancing your understanding of IPV: recommendations from Chuka
Dr. Emezue offered a handful of recommendations to help people better understand DV and intimate partner abuse, particularly from the lens of empowering men to understand their role in ending violence and preventing it.
🎧 Podcast: Now and Men: thoughtful conversations on masculinity, gender equity, mental health, fatherhood, violence, and care.
📘 Book: Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves: “Not focused on IPV, but you can trace the bread crumbs,” Chuka notes
💻 Explore: BrotherlyACT: a digital intervention and social movement Chuka co-leads on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X @BrotherlyACT
🦋 Bluesky: @brotherlyact.bsky.social
Beyond the work
Violence prevention is difficult, emotional work. It’s important to prioritize balance. Outside of teaching and research, Chuka finds calm in indoor gardening and spends much of his free time writing poetry and short fiction. “I’ve been working on a novel since 2013. Another decade and it should be good.” He’s also an “avid ramen enthusiast”. (🍜 The best hobby descriptor we’ve ever heard!).
He draws inspiration from bold, socially conscious authors like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ocean Vuong, Jesmyn Ward, and Kurt Vonnegut. And enjoys a good podcast. “My favorites include Hidden Brain, Radio Lab, Stuff You Should Know, Car Talk (go figure!), and a growing list of shows that explore the intersections of science, society, and the self.”
Final words and designing hope
“Ultimately, I believe that violence is preventable,” Chuka says. “And with the right interventions, support systems, and community voices at the table, we can build systems that not only protect, but also empower.”
Learn more about Chuka’s work at:
🏫 Rush University
🖥️ LinkedIn
📲 Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X: @BrotherlyACT
🦋 Bluesky: @brotherlyact.bsky.social
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🔗 Learn more and explore the myPlan app @ myPlanApp.org.
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