The project seeks to produce “healthy masculinities” in young black males in Pittsburgh, using a curriculum called “Manhood 2.0.” The curriculum involves “identifying examples of policing gender and sexuality” and teaches young men that masculinity is not about physical strength.

Elizabeth Miller, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh who is leading the study, said it is her “dream project.” Miller provided a fact sheet on her study, which details its goals of “gender norms change.”

“This study will provide urgently needed information about the effectiveness of a gender transformative program that combines healthy sexuality skills, gender norms change, and bystander skills to interrupt peers’ disrespectful and harmful behaviors to reduce SV/ARA [sexual violence and adolescent relationship abuse] perpetration among adolescent males,” the summary stated.

The study is enrolling 900 teenagers in 14 community centers in Pittsburgh into its “Manhood 2.0 curriculum” or a job skills program, to see which program is better at changing attitudes about sexual assault.