Working with Men and Boys to Promote Gender Equality and to End Violence Against Boys and Girls (2005)

Interventions that treat men as the villains and women as the victims have not taken us far. Not all masculinities (or ways of being a man) are harmful to men, women and children. This was the starting point for a three-day workshop organised by the South and Central Asia office of Save the Children-Sweden, which was held in Kathmandu in March 2004 on 'strengthening partnership with men and boys to promote gender equality and end violence against girls and boys'. Around thirty participants from the region met and shared their practical experiences of and theoretical insights into working with men and boys. This resource includes an overview of the workshop, a discussion of frameworks and approaches for working with men and boys, a description of the work that is currently being carried out on these issues, and a discussion of ways to take this work forward. Recommendations highlight the need to increase knowledge on gender issues among professionals and in the school curriculum. Efforts should also be made to promote programmes for men on parenting and responsible sexual behaviour. Programmes should stress the benefits for all members in society of men playing a more active role in nurturing their children and abandoning the culture of violence as a proof of masculinity.