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EuoPROFEM - The European Men Profeminist Network http://www.europrofem.org
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Men
Take One Step Against Violence Men
Urged to Support Fight Against Gender Violence Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) fighting for women's rights have called on the active participation of men in the fight against gender violence. They have called on men to spread peace in their families during the 16 Days of Activism campaign of No Violence against Women and Children, to run from 25 November to 10 December. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will officially launch the campaign on 19 November to mobilise all sectors of society to promote non-violence against women and children. The16 Days of Activism is an international campaign, aimed at raising public awareness on human rights and gender violence. During this time, women and human rights organisations all over the world will concentrate their efforts on raising awareness on all forms of violence against women and children. Addressing the media in Johannesburg today, Gender Links director Colleen Lowe Morna, said it was time abusive men considered 'women as human beings and respected their rights.' 'For a long time women have suffered in the hands of their abusive partners, now its time it comes to an end,' said Ms Morna. 'Its time that all women unite and speak with one voice and say enough is enough!' Men's Forum director Mbuyiselo Botha said not all men were bad but those that violated women's rights needed serious help.
He appealed to communities to unite and stand up against violence on women. Tebogo Matoane from Young Women's Network said a culture of peace was needed.
Workshops on how domestic violence can be curbed will be conducted throughout the country during this time. The campaign will coincide with a commemoration of the Mirabal sisters who were brutally murdered by the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1960. Other events to be commemorated will include the Montreal Massacre, when a man gunned down 14 women engineering students he accused of being feminists. Activities planned for the period range from candlelight vigils for victims of domestic violence and other forms of violence, and public education campaigns on violence against women and children. South Africa has been promoting the 16 Days of Activism campaign of No Violence against Women and Children for the past four years.
The main objectives of the Men as Partners programme include:
http://www.ppasa.org.za/mags/mag0398/page1.html Many development programs effectively empower primarily the men in a community. However, Community Aid Abroad believes that real social change often comes only when women are empowered to change their community for the better. That's why all of our development activities are assessed according to gender; according to what they are doing for women's lives. Sometimes this is as concrete as setting up women's credit schemes, while other programs actually tackle relationships between men and women. One such program is the Men in Soccer program in South Africa, which aims to empower women by changing men's attitudes and behaviour around safer sex and HIV. The Men in Soccer program is working with forty soccer teams in four districts around Durban, South Africa. The focus on soccer clubs makes sense: soccer is the most popular sport for South Africans. Not only do good players have high status, soccer clubs are important community meeting points throughout the country. The Men in Soccer program aims to raise AIDS awareness through peer education. Two volunteers from each team will be trained about AIDS, safe sex and the management of sexually transmitted infections. They then pass this information on to the rest of the team informally in normal social settings, and teams will develop public awareness messages and activities for their supporters. The impact of the program will be evaluated after three years, including by talking with partners of the soccer players to see if there has been behavioural change. The Men in Soccer program is a very ambitious project, aimed directly at influencing men's behaviour. By dealing with AIDS and gender issues through working with men, we hope that women's power to negotiate safe sex can be increased. _________________________________________________________________ There is quite a lot happening in South Africa in terms of gender - in terms of profeminist men (by the way, this is a term that does not sit comfortably with all men working in gender related areas - against domestic abuse, in the field of AIDS, in areas of reconciliation - there is some antipathy towards 'feminism' (understood as a 'western' import and hence as imperialist)). I edited a special issue of the feminist journal, AGENDA last year Its theme was 'The new men?' and it included a number of articles on initiatives in South Africa which make masculinity a central part of gender work. It was issue #37. I hope this is of some use - it is the best summary of 'profeminist' action in South Africa. I forgot to mention that IASOM news (The journal of the International Association for the Study of Men) is devoting its next issue to Men and Violence. Michael Kaufman is editing it and its due out at the Women's World Conference in Tromso in June. I have a short article on South Africa in that issue. With best wishes Robert |
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Since
1998, through its “Men As Partners” (MAP) Program, EngenderHealth
and the Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa (PPASA) have been
working with men in communities, schools, and workplace settings to explore
society’s messages regarding the roles of men and women, relationships
between the sexes, power imbalances based on gender, and gender-based
violence. This workshop will expose participants to highly successful MAP
strategies, including the use of interactive and reflective activities to
help men understand and address negative gender and social norms that lead
to violence against women and the spread of HIV/AIDS.