ISSUE: Four Latin American NGOs have collaborated with PROMUNDO Institute (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) since 1998 to call greater attention to the needs and realities of young men ages 15-24 in sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and gender violence prevention, and to engage them in HIV/AIDS prevention.
Health
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.
From the executive summary - "The focus of this 2000 Technical Report and Policy Paper...is on a gender perspective in sexual and reproductive health, and on finding constructive ways to build partnership between men and women....Just as family planning and the pill were revolutionarey 50 years ago, building partnerships with men in areas such as sexuality, reproductive intentions, new gender roles, fatherhood and conflict resolution is the revolution occuring at the start of the 21st century...
What immediately follows is from the book Love and Pornography (2009). (See the previous post for more.)
The Movement of Men Against AIDS In Kenya (MMAAK) is launching a new publication at the forthcoming ICASA in Abuja. "Men can make a difference" is part of MMAAK's important work in challenging men's role in both the spread and prevention of HIV.
This brochure highlights key resources for working with men and provides a framework for distinguishing among the varied programmes, research and tools that are available. The framework reflects different approaches to such work: men are viewed as “clients” (focusing on men's own reproductive health needs), as ”partners” (focusing on promoting men's central roles in supporting women's health), or as “agents of positive social change” (focusing on engaging men in the promotion of gender equity).
The age of AIDS carries in its wake a renewed and belated recognition of the particular vulnerability of young women and girls through harmful gender norms and inequality. Yet all too often sexual and reproductive health and HIV programmes fail to engage men and boys to become better lovers, partners and fathers – for their own benefit, that of their partners and families and for changing gender stereotypes.
The summer of 1992 significantly changed my life. When I was 21, I found a lump on my right testicle that turned out be cancer. During the next three months I would endure the removal of one of my testicles, major exploratory surgery to my abdomen, the discovery that the cancer had spread, weeks in the hospital, and two rounds of chemotherapy. All in all, it was the most painful, terrifying thing I have ever experienced. It took me over four years to admit that. I thought it would be weak of me to acknowledge my fears, but I realize that I have never been stronger. This is an excerpt of the paper I wrote for my senior project. It serves as a window into my experience with testicular cancer, the anguish I continued to feel after treatment, and what I am doing to heal emotionally from what was the most difficult time in my life. It is the culmination of months of reflection, discussion, and research.