Contemporary campaigns and programs addressing men’s violence against women are under sustained attack. They are subject to repeated, hostile criticism by anti-feminist men and men’s networks. Any organisation which publicly addresses violence against women finds itself under a barrage of e-mails and letters, while any forum which sympathetically addresses the issue is swamped by hostile responses. Here, I address the claims which are the standard fare of anti-feminist men’s attacks on domestic violence efforts.
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Sonke Gender Justice Network and the MenEngage Alliance recently held a weeklong symposium in Johannesburg Oct 5-9th to profile research, programmes and policies related to efforts to engage men and boys in achieving gender equality and to promote greater dialogue and shared action between women's rights organizations and organizations working with men and boys for gender equality.
It’s a weeknight after a particularly tough day at work. You’ve just put the kids to bed. You can’t stop thinking about work, the problems waiting for you there tomorrow and it’s getting you down. You don’t feel like talking about it, especially not with your partner. You just want to be left alone to mull things over. You’re ready for a beer and the couch.
Your partner always knows when some thing’s up and tonight is no exception. She sits beside you on the couch and asks ”Are you ok? You haven’t said much all night.” You reply with a curt, “I’m fine.” And you turn back to the TV hoping she will change the subject. Your partner is offended now and she gets up and leaves the room.
Does this sound familiar? It’s a common scenario that many men could avoid if they developed their emotional intelligence.
WARNING: WHAT FOLLOWS IS SEXUALLY AND SEXISTLY GRAPHIC:
In a recent post, Jennifer Drew added her analysis of the atrocity of gang rape. I welcome everyone to read that by clicking here and scrolling down to her comments.
One point I'd like to clarify, as a white U.S.er, is that racism and homophobia are not considered hate crimes in the U.S. Not even close. Nor are any institutionalised abuses against oppressed people understood, legally, as "crimes"--hateful or otherwise.
...and some stories are shared between the two.
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I got the following question posted as a comment to another thread which can be found here. This is the question:
This special issue of the ISIS International Women's Resource Centre's journal, Women in Action (based in the Philippines), is focused on men and gender equality. It features the following articles:
Feminist Project Seeks to Understand Men, by Rashidah Abdullah
Men's Involvement in Gender Equality Movements in Japan, by Hiroko Hashimoto
Home is Where the Hurt Is, by Ava Vivian Gonzales
Transforming Filipino Men Through Innovatve Projects
Express Yourself: Exclusive Discos in Manila, by Roselle Pineda
Why Women Spaces are Critical to Feminist Autonomy, by Patricia McFadden
This paper examines young heterosexual men’s participation in unsafe sex. A qualitative study of young heterosexual Australian men’s understandings and practices of safe and unsafe sex, involving in-depth interviews conducted with 17 men aged between 18 and 26, found that five principal themes recur in young men’s accounts for the non-use of condoms.
While program experimentation targeting men has mushroomed in many parts of the world, operations research that examines the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of genderbased approaches has been limited. In response to this gap, the Horizons Program, together with partner organizations, is undertaking important programmatic research among young men in three countries. The research seeks to better understand the linkages between gender norms and HIV risk behaviors, and to determine whether the interventions that are developed using this information make a difference in the lives of young men and their partners. This issue of the Horizons Report describes emerging findings from studies in Brazil, Tanzania (page 7), and India (page 10).