Online
Discussion from 22 until 31 October!
Wikigender
Online Discussion
Engaging
Men and Boys to Transform Discriminatory Social Norms
Participate in
this online discussion and be heard at the seminar on "Measuring
progress towards gender equality: where do we stand?" on 13
November, an event co-organised by the OECD Development Centre and the
Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm.
Sonke Gender Justice Network, Men for Gender Equality Sweden
(Män för Jämställdhet), the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
and Wikigender invite you to participate in a new online
discussion on the topic of "Engaging Men and Boys in Transforming
Discriminatory Social Norms". The inputs from the Wikigender
community will be presented via a summary report at the event.
To participate,
scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter your comment from Monday
22/10 onwards.
Background
While
policy-makers and civil society have rightly focussed on the need to
empower women as a core strategy to achieve gender equality, there is now
growing recognition that engaging men and boys is fundamental for
reaching full equality. Indeed, the 2013 theme for the fifty-seventh
session of the Commission
on the Status of Women (CSW) will be on the
Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and
girls, and the review theme will focus on the equal sharing of
responsibilities between women and men, including care giving in the
context of HIV/AIDS.
The OECD Development Centre’s 2012 Social Institutions and
Gender Index (SIGI) found that while there has been progress in some
areas, discriminatory social norms which undermine gender equality remain
persistent and pervasive. For example, while countries are increasingly
introducing laws to address domestic violence, female genital mutilation or women’s land rights, this has not translated
to a shift in attitudes or practice. Can these discriminatory attitudes
and norms be transformed without the buy-in and support of men and boys?
This online
discussion is therefore a unique opportunity to focus more specifically
on how men and boys can be engaged in transforming such discriminatory
social norms to achieve gender
equality. Many organisations are now designing innovative projects
to engage men and boys in various gender equality initiatives – social
media campaigns to challenge violence against women, community
mobilisation programmes to combat early marriage and awareness-raising
about men’s role as fathers and carers. We would like to hear from you on
your experiences and knowledge on this issue. We particularly welcome
contributions from implementers at program and project level and the
sharing of reports or discussions on the topic.
Questions
- Key
issues: What are the
opportunities and challenges for engaging men and boys in promoting
gender equality? How can men and boys be persuaded that gender
equality also benefits them? What are some examples of new thinking
or evidence in this area?
- Examples,
case-studies: In
your area/region, what are examples of successful programmes in
engaging men and boys in transforming discriminatory social norms?
(e.g. socio-cultural practices, caring responsibilities, employment
rights, gender- based violence; other key
issues highlighted in the SIGI) Are there approaches that are
more effective than others? How can we harness the power of new
technologies and the media? What role does men’s leadership play?
- Action
required: What actions should
governments, donors, UN bodies and civil society take to support the
engagement of men and boys in achieving gender equality?
Key Resources
Articles, Report and
Briefs
- Working with men and boys
to advance gender equality (Wikigender, by Dean Peacock and Gary Barker)
- Boys
and men must be included in the conversation on equality (Guardian blog, 21 March 2012)
- Men for Gender Equality Now
(MEGEN) Kenya
(Wikigender)
- Because I am a Girl: So,
what about boys?
Plan International, 2011 (on Wikigender)
- Engaging
Men and Boys to Reduce and Prevent Gender-Based Violence, Issue Brief, White Ribbon Campaign, April 2011
- The
2010 Soccer World Cup: Opportunities to engage men and buys in
advancing gender equality, 2008
- Greig, A., Edström, J.
and Glyde, J. (2008) 'Men,
Sex and HIV: Directions for Politicising Masculinities', IDS In Focus 4, Brighton: IDS
- Mobilising
Men in Practice:
Challenging sexual and gender-based violence in institutional
settings – Tools, Stories, Lessons
- Men
are changing:
Case study evidence on work with men and boys to promote gender
equality and positive masculinities, IPPF, 2010
- Men
and Development:
Politicizing Masculinities, by Andrea Cornwall, Jerker Edström and
Alan Greig
- Engaging
men and boys in changing gender-based inequity in health: Evidence
from programme interventions, WHO, 2007
Tools, websites and other resources
Key Contacts
Contribute!
We look forward to
your participation! We strongly encourage you to disseminate news about
the online discussion via your networks and on Twitter using #engagingmen and the following link to this
page: http://bit.ly/RHO281
Anyone with an Internet connection is
invited to participate in the discussion and we encourage you to express
your views on this pressing issue.
Please note however that comments will be moderated to ensure that there
is no spam disrupting the discussion.
To participate, simply type your
comment below or register directly via Disqus, Twitter or Facebook before
typing your comment. To insert a URL hyperlink, make sure you shorten the
URL first before posting it, otherwise it may not work. (e.g. using
bitly, google url shorterner, tiny url...)
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