News & Publications : The Other Half

10 Mar 2011

Engage Men as Part of the Solution

In working with men to address violence against women and girls, it is crucial that men are seen as part of the solution. This strategy will help diminish men’s defensiveness and hostility for being blamed for the behaviour of some men. By recognizing differences among men at the individual level: men who are perpetrators, men who have experienced abuse, men who are champions in speaking and taking action against violence and all the different men in between, there is a greater opportunity to open discussion with men on the roots and causes of violence against women and discriminatory attitudes that perpetuate it.

Why are some men reluctant to engage in violence prevention work?

Messages and images that vilify men and stereotype them as aggressors will do little to engage them in this work. A study conducted by the US-based Family Violence Prevention Fund (Garin 2000) found:

13 percent of the 1,000 men interviewed identified their reluctance to get involved in violence prevention activities because of their perception that they had been vilified and were seen as part of the problem, rather than the solution;
13 percent of men said they didn’t know how to help; and
21 percent of men said that they did not actively support efforts to end domestic violence because “no one has asked them to get involved”

How can men be engaged as part of the solution?

Create safe spaces and single-sex discussion groups for men where they can learn more about the issue, ask questions without being judged or feeling ignorant, where they can participate without feeling threatened by expressing their concern for ‘women’s issues’, and can reflect on their own attitudes about women and violence;
Use male facilitators in settings where this is preferred and ensure that whether a man or a woman, the person is trained and qualified; Do not use language that leaves men feeling blamed for things they have not done or for things they were taught to do;
Openly acknowledge with the group that men are often grouped together and blamed for the actions of some without the recognition of their diverse beliefs and behaviours;
Use the mass media to reinforce non-violent norms and foster attitudes among men and the public at large that violence against women is not acceptable, that ‘real men’ do not exert violence, and women are equal;
and Work at the community level with various educational, outreach and mobilization strategies to influence social norms and create an enabling environment for men and boys to reject traditional stereotypes of manhood and use of violence.

www.endvawnow.org

10 Mar 2011

International Women’s Day…a Letter of Love From Men by Michael Kaufman

It’s another day for most women in the world: breakfast is cooked, diapers are changed, fields are tended, computers switched on, patients treated, students taught, and houses cleaned.

In the distance, groups of men thump the drums of war. They talk of the cleansing power of explosives stuffed into a car. They anonymously rain missiles from the sky. They order their soldiers to shoot their own citizens to retain their boney grip of power.

Closer to home, there are still far too many men who believe it is their right to hit a woman. Or if not exactly their right, they say it was an unfortunate outcome of a temper that is a bit out of control, a bad day at the office, or a bit too much to drink.

There are still far too many men who feel that the difficult, glorious, exhausting, and exhilarating work of raising our children is, somehow, not our work, too. And, who also believe they deserve to have someone cook for them and clean for them as if they were a helpless child or a king.

There are still men who don’t see how our governments, our economies, and our places of worship will benefit from the equal leadership of women.

There are too many men who oppose women’s reproductive rights and control over their own bodies.

There are men who believe that women in the workplace or on the streets are open targets for their jokes, whistles, comments, and proposals.

There are too many men who still don’t understand the simplest of words: No.

On this day, March 8, International Women’s Day, there seems to be more than the normal disconnect between the lives and experiences of women and the lives and experiences of men. For nowadays, women are challenging this blind exercise of power, whether meted out in the battlefield, at the office, or in the home.

As much as any single thing, the past forty years have been shaped by the courage of countless women and girls. In only one or two generations, unequal social relationships and ideas of womanhood and manhood that date back seven, eight thousand years have been swept aside. No corner of the globe is untouched. No institution is immune.

And at last, an increasing number of men are responding to the urgent and impassioned voices of women. We are challenging our own assumptions about what it means to be men. We are reshaping our relationships with children. We are thinking about our words and behaviour.

We are building a new bond with women, one based not on domination but on shared responsibilities, respect, and love.

I cannot speak on behalf of any other man, but I know I have millions of brothers who share these words: To the women and girls around the world who continue to inspire us, happy International Women’s Day!

Michael Kaufman
March 8, 2011
www.michaelkaufman.com

18 Feb 2011

Mayo Domestic Violence Support Service launch White ribbon campaign in Westport

Launch of 16 days and white ribbon campaign in Westport.

11 Feb 2011

Breaking the Silence in Donegal!

Donegal Domestic Violence Women's Refuge and Support Service calling on men to support their White Ribbon Campaign. Remember it could be your sister, mother, daughter, friend.................