When Men Change

"What works to engage men in achieving gender equality?"

"When Men Change" tells the story of 4 men who changed the way they think about gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, and violence. Produced by Promundo, this film illustrates what interventions have proven to be effective when engaging men and boys in advancing gender equality and preventing gender-based violence (GBV), from the health sector to the workplace.

Promundo notes that, by engaging men in well-designed initiatives – including community campaigns, fatherhood training sessions, prenatal visits, comprehensive and inclusive sexuality education, and counseling – and changing social and cultural institutions that perpetuate harmful norms, it is possible to transform the attitudes and behaviours that promote inequalities and lead to GBV. The key, they say, is working to change the structures and influences around men and boys that drive the formation of inequitable norms and practices - for example, by:

• Challenging traditional gender norms through programmes that include critical discussions of gender norms and masculinity with men and boys in the areas of: sexual and reproductive health; HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support; GBV; men's participation in maternal, newborn, and child health; and fatherhood.
• Ending the cycle of violence through programmes that pay attention to how men and boys experience and witness violence as children - in homes and other settings - so as to break this cycle.
• Combining multiple approaches, because integrated programmes that combine group education with community outreach, mobilisation, and mass media campaigns have been found to be more effective in changing behaviour than group education alone.
• Pairing programmatic interventions with targeted advocacy to: change laws and policies; hold accountable those who implement laws and policies; and change norms, particularly among staff in key institutions. ("In addition, holding men accountable for the violence they have carried out must be part of national strategies to end and prevent" GBV.")
• Empowering community leaders through trainings on gender equality and violence against women, particularly as a means to create a positive force for change within communities, as well as at the local and national level. ("Working to embed changes within institutions such as schools and religious groups, from the initial program-planning phase onward, is crucial for designing effective messages and sustainable initiatives.")
• Redistributing care work by promoting policy changes, including paternity leave. ("Programs in parenting, health, and other sectors that engage both fathers and mothers can be effective in shifting traditional gender norms around care work. A bigger push for equal, non-transferrable, and paid parental leave, along with national policies that encourage men to be involved in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child heath, are critical for instigating and sustaining that change.")
• Working with men in partnership with women, synchronising work with diverse groups of men and women, boys and girls, to build momentum for social change.