The role of men in combating gender based violence.

Taking Action

From individual Advocacy to Participating in International Campaigns: Discussions: discussions on a Virtual Seminar on Men's Roles and Responsibilities in Ending Gender based Violence, October 2001.

If it were between countries, we'd call it a war. If it were a disease, we'd call it an epidemic. If it were an oil spill, we'd call it a disaster. But it is happening to women, and it's just an everyday affair. It is violence against women. It is sexual harassment at work and sexual abuse of the young. It is the beating or the blow that millions of women suffer each and every day. It is rape at home or on a date. It is murder."

"There's no secret enemy pulling the trigger, no unseen virus that leads to death. It is only men. Not all men, but far too many men. In some countries most men will never be violent against a woman; in others, the majority of men take it as their birthright to do what they want, when they want, to women.

This isn't a matter of debating 'which is worse' or comparing body counts. Concern for any human suffering at the hands of fellow humans need not be justified, nor ranked. Even in these times, which are particularly difficult, our dedication to struggle against all forms of violence against women is as just a concern and as important a preoccupation as it ever has been.

The issue of gender based violence is especially relevant today. I have heard the terrorist attacks of September 11 described in many ways, using many adjectives, some correct, others not. But the one thing I have never heard on the lips of a politician or in the media is something more simple, basic, and timeless than all the geopolitical, religious, cultural or psychological explanations. It is this - these were acts of men's violence.

A decade ago, one of the most pressing concerns was men's almost total silence about the worldwide epidemic of violence against women. There were a few 'treatment' programmes for men who had committed acts of violence against women and a few limited prevention programmes.

Now, a scant ten years later, there is a surge of interest. The trickle of efforts that first became a stream has now become a river: New campaigns, new educational initiatives. new research and new forms of co-operation between women and men. I've received email from nascent campaigns in Zambia, the Philippines, and Brazil and the INSTRAW online forum featured contributions from around the world. Local efforts and national campaigns involving and addressing men and boys are unfolding everywhere. Multicountry regional co-operation, in central and southern Africa, south Asia, south-east Asia, Europe, and Latin America, is also starting to appear.

This is a big change-one that might even be thought of as a world historic development. It is a challenge to one of the cornerstones of patriarchal culture, a corners dating back 8000 years. The challenge of course started with women's activism in the 1 1970s; this activism continues to propel international efforts against violence against women. But now something new can be heard, emerging with conviction and force, men's own voices in breaking the silence about violence against women.

I would like to give voice to the current of hope that is beginning to pick up strength and purpose. Our online discussion was but a little eddy; a little part of this river of activities addressing and involving men in ending gender based violence. But it is a contribution, a river of hope against an eight thousand year-old landscape, ills a river that needs to be fed, and is-being fed, by us; our sisters and now our brothers all around the world.

Michael Kaufman is a member of the International White Ribbon Campaign

"Tell us what you are doing", asked Michael Kaufman of the International White Ribbon campaign as he launched the fourth and final seminar in INSTRAW's Virtual Seminar Series on Men's Roles and Responsibilities in Ending Gender Based Violence. Over 42 people from 22 different countries participated. From the near 60 postings that made up this seminar, experiences of working with both prevention and intervention initiatives were shared from Australia to Romania, Pakistan to Kenya South Africa, Ecuador and India, to name just a few.

The stores from around the globe highlighted a few key issues:

* Gender based violence is not a problem with a single cause and must be understood in different contexts with various institutional, individual and societal norms;

* The various examples and ideas shared mark different entry points along the spectrum from policy and prevention to direct intervention and together these examples give us a picture of what a more comprehensive and cohesive strategy to end violence may look like.

But the picture we painted of complex causalities and diverse remedies does beg the questions - how can all these experiences be useful to us a individuals? And how can I 'take action' ? The 'big tent' approach is useful for sharing stories and ideas across broad networks and geographical areas. The examples and ideas are meant to inspire new initiatives; thus the challenge lies in finding the common ground, the linkages and the lessons from our work that can be applied ore universally. So what did we...