Activism & Politics

This article explores the subject of sexual rights and the claims about such rights as they are made by and for men. It considers the different bases of these claims, which range from some men’s experience of sexual oppression to other men’s experience of their gender socialisation. The article highlights the issues of power and privilege, which often lie hidden within such claims and calls for a discourse of ‘men and sexual rights’ that can take account of both gender norms and sexual hierarchies. Central to this call is a conception of accountability that is at once personal and political; the political accountability of duty-bearers to promote and protect the sexual rights of all rights-holders, men and women; and the personal accountability of men in relation to the ways in which their gender privilege serves to deny the sexual rights of others. 

First published in the IDS Bulletin, Vol 37 No 5, 2006.

I’ve been working to end men’s violence against women for almost 20 years.  And I am doing this work largely because of the inspiration, teachings and welcome of powerful, smart, feminist women.  We men (myself included) owe it to these women, and to ourselves, to practice true accountability. 

Twenty years ago I joined my first anti-sexist men’s group. I’ve had a passionate commitment to profeminism ever since, nurtured through men’s anti-violence activism, Women’s and Gender Studies, editing a profeminist magazine, and now pursuing a career in feminist scholarship. Men’s violence against women is an obvious area for anti-sexist men’s activism, as it’s one of the bluntest and most brutal forms of gender inequality. I’ve organised campaigns in groups like Men Against Sexual Assault, run workshops in schools, helped run a national White Ribbon Campaign, designed violence prevention programs for athletes and others, and done research and writing on violence against women. But I’ve also been forced to critique and confront anti-feminist men in ‘men’s rights’ and ‘fathers’ rights’ groups. Their efforts are having a growing influence on community understandings of, and policy responses to, gender issues.

This new report is the most comprehensive resource available on men's sexual and reproductive behavior and needs, encompassing men in 45 developing and developed countries from sexual initiation through marriage and parenthood.

See below for the report in PDF. Or see here for versions in Spanish.

An in-depth examination of men's sexual and reproductive health brings together national research findings to document the sexual and reproductive needs of men in their own right—as individuals and not simply as women's partners.

See below for the report in PDF. Or see here for versions in Spanish.