Monday, November 23rd, 2009 - No comments

This week’s highlights: Domestic violence and men

‘Conversation starters’ answered the question: “Can you share any stories of men and boys mobilizing to stop domestic violence?” Below is a brief summary of the thoughts shared at Conversations for a Better World.

People from around the globe responded with curiosity to the issue of domestic violence. Participants wrote in from Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Sixty-percent of participants are male, and professions varies from writers and journalists to leaders in the NGO sector. Click here to read some of the contributions.

A sense of ownership

Contributors hold a common belief that participation matters. By joining the conversation, they hope to engage others, and they hope to explore the cultural and social norms behind domestic violence. Men and women both outline their concerns that traditional ways of thinking influences men through the perception that a woman is subservient to a man. In this atmosphere, participants write, it is difficult or impossible for abused women to speak out without repercussions.

Action

One contributor argues a need to emphasize education and professional training, through which communities can raise awareness and help those experiencing violence. There is also a need to ascertain that the laws and justice systems are in place to protect women and girls from abuse, says one participant.

Solutions: Utilizing men and boys

Nearly all of the writers agree that men ought to get involved in the dialogue to defeat incidents of violence against women. Men as individuals are too often ‘pressured’ by social norms, but together, some participants say, there is a synergy. So the focus should be on individual men and boys to engage with each other on the topic of domestic violence through some kind of group activity.

All contributors believe that domestic violence needs more attention and preventative action, especially with the participation of men. Some conversation starters give examples of invaluable links to programs with men working on domestic violence awareness.

Resources

Below are some resources gathered from this week’s online conversation.

• An NGO focusing on education and awareness of violence against women for men and boys in more than fifty-five countries:
• White Ribbon Campaign

• Pro-feminist organizations and programs for men working to end violence against women:
  
• http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_Doc.php?docid=1043

• Training tools and background information for use in promoting men’s involvement in the movement to end violence against women:
• http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_Doc.php?docid=1045

• Prevention of violence against women:
  
• http://new.vawnet.org/category/index_pages.php?category_id=19#729

• ‘Coaching boys into men’: A campaign, where international celebrity soccer coaches and players are  “teachers” of violence prevention:
• http://www.endabuse.org/content/features/detail/826/

• Violence against women action center:
• http://www.endabuse.org/content/action_center/detail/806

This blog-post is the first part of a series covering weekly highlights of the conversations at www.conversationsforabetterworld.com. In the following weeks Conversations for a Better World and Women Watch is hosting a forum on violence against women. We want to hear from you.

The views expressed in this blog-post are solely those of the author.