Working with Boys and Men

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'.

This brochure highlights key resources for working with men and provides a framework for distinguishing among the varied programmes, research and tools that are available. The framework reflects different approaches to such work: men are viewed as “clients” (focusing on men's own reproductive health needs), as ”partners” (focusing on promoting men's central roles in supporting women's health), or as “agents of positive social change” (focusing on engaging men in the promotion of gender equity).

This 110-page training manual is a resource for government and non-government organizations (NGOs) that aim to promote gender equity and address masculinity as a strategy for the prevention of HIV infection. The manual is adapted from a program entitled “Program H: Working with Young Men Series” that was developed in Brazil by Instituto PROMUNDO and was evaluated by the Population Council.

REDMAS (Red de Masculinidad por la Igualdad de Género) is a network based in Nicaragua which is composed of 19 Nicaraguan organisations working on gender and masculinities and which aims to build knowledge on related theories and methodologies by creating spaces where its members can share experiences and reflections. The objective of this manual is to document lessons learnt by the network on experiences, methodologies and planning that can contribute to strengthening future work both with all-male and mixed groups, particularly focusing on children, adolescents and youth.

This article explores the notion of ‘troublesome’ masculinities that characterise much of the policy discourse and programme thinking on problems of young men and gender. It critiques the dimorphism that shapes this view of young men’s gender trouble, and the ‘culturalism’ that constrains the perception of the troubled times in which many young men live.

This United Nations report, published by the Division for the Advancement of Women in December 2008, focuses on the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality.

Please see below for the attachment, in PDF.

The age of AIDS carries in its wake a renewed and belated recognition of the particular vulnerability of young women and girls through harmful gender norms and inequality. Yet all too often sexual and reproductive health and HIV programmes fail to engage men and boys to become better lovers, partners and fathers – for their own benefit, that of their partners and families and for changing gender stereotypes.

Michael Kaufman’s framework provides an accessible and compelling account of the need to involve men and boys in building gender equality. Written in 2003, it offers a strategic approach with which to mobilize men and boys to work on their own and in partnership with women and girls to transform destructive masculinities, end oppressive gender relations, and promote gender equity and equality.

Please see below for the attachment, in both PDF and RTF.

• What is the evidence on the effectiveness of programmes engaging men and boys in sexual and reproductive health; HIV prevention, treatment, care and support; fatherhood; gender-based violence; maternal, newborn and child health; and gender socialization?

• How effective are these programmes?

Engaging Boys and Men in Gender Transformation: The Group Education Manual (2008) is produced by EngenderHealth and Promundo. This is an educational manual for working with men to question non-equitable views about masculinity and develop more positive attitudes to prevent unhealthy behaviors that put them and their partners and families at risk. It can also be used to train facilitators who will implement workshop activities with groups of men. The activities are intended for use with men of all ages, although some adaptations might have to be made depending on the ages of the men and the country and community context. These activities can also be adapted for use with groups of men and women.