#theme:gen_masc

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

Violence against women1 (VAW) hinders the realization of a wide range of development goals, from the elimination of poverty to the fulfillment of human rights. In Arab countries, many forms of VAW exist and are perpetuated by the deep-rooted sociocultural factors. Ending VAW requires the collaboration of all community members. There is a growing awareness that men, in partnership with women, can play a significant role in ending VAW. This has led to an increase in programmes and activities that focus on men’s roles in prevention.

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

Excitement, hope and solidarity filled the air on this sunny day in November 2009. More than 150 men, women, girls and boys from Kuyasa, a section of South Africa’s third largest townships Khayelitsha, had come together to launch Sonke’s first One Man Can (OMC) branch. It was a key event in Sonke’s organisational history, as it signified the beginning of the NGO’s move towards much stronger community mobilisation and community-based activism. The launch also helped to kick off Sonke’s 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign and celebrated the third anniversary of its OMC programme.

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

The theme of the first Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality was: “Scaling up Work with Men and Boys in Gender Equality”. The Symposium emerged from the hundreds of civil society and governmental programs around the world that are already working to engage men and boys in preventing violence against women and girls in a number of areas: sexual and reproductive health and rights; HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation; fatherhood and caregiving; ending homophobia; and maternal and child health. There is resounding consensus among individuals and organizations involved in these efforts with men and boys on the need to move from small-scale and short-term interventions to sustained, long-term and large-scale efforts to reach men and boys and involve them in achieving gender equality.

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

How can public policies more adequately engage men and boys in achieving gender equality and reducing gender disparities in health and social welfare? How can underlying social norms and institutions be changed to support men in becoming more gender-equitable on a large scale? A growing number of program experiences with men and boys worldwide confirm that programs can influence men’s attitudes and behaviors in gender-equitable ways. For the most part, however, public policies have yet to adequately engage men and boys in overcoming gender inequality or addressing their own gender-related vulnerabilities.

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

This is the is the fifth in a series of annual reports published by Plan examining the rights of girls throughout their childhood, adolescence and as young women. The report shows that far from being an issue just for women and girls, gender is also about boys and men, and that this needs to be better understood if we are going to have a positive impact on societies and economies.

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

This paper reflects the position that in order to comprehend the nature of gender inequalities we must closely interrogate the relationship between gender identities in their various social, cultural, economic and political contexts... Hence, the study of feminine, masculine and trans-gender identities concerns the exploration of power relationships within the contemporary gender landscape, where certain dominant ideals of manhood impact on women, different ways of being men, as well those identities that may not fit either gender category. This way of engaging with ‘gender’ is an exploration into the naturalisation of the category ‘man’ through which men have come to be regarded as un-gendered and as the ‘universal subject of human history’ (O’Hanlon 1997: 1). Masculinity refers to the socially produced but embodied ways of being male. Its manifestations include... behaviour...and an overall narrative that positions it as superior to its perceived antithesis, femininity.

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

Traumatic masculinities refer to the changing gender roles, decreased ability for men to be breadwinners, and processes of demasculinization that Georgian IDPs (internally displaced people) are experiencing. INGO and NGO policies and programs, in many situations, paradoxically exacerbate these conditions by not incorporating men into their programs and activities, further isolating them. Failure to take both genders into account, or else simply ignoring men, renders both men and women even more vulnerable while living in displacement. Thus, programs must be designed for men as well as for both men and women. These programs must utilize a nuanced approach that avoids simply reproducing traditional gender roles in order to empower people and transform gender relationships. The longer that IDP communities remain vulnerable, the greater the opportunities for political mobilization by the IDP population, as well as for opposition leaders to politicize the IDP issue...

[idsknowledgeservices-blog]

Program H and Program M were developed to engage youth in critical reflections on gender and help them build skills to act in more empowered and equitable ways. The complementary interventions use educational workshops, community outreach strategies and a multi-media campaign to empower young women to feel a sense of agency and control over their lives and to sensitize young men to some of the harmful ways they are socialized and introduces ways to take on more gender-equitable attitudes and behaviours. Program H and Program M have been carried out in diverse contexts in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Balkans. Beneficiaries have included youth living in urban centers and youth living in rural areas, in-school and out-of-school youth, single youth and married youth, and youth of various sexual orientations. The curricula have also been used to train health and education professionals on how to incorporate a gender perspective in their...