Week 3: Relation between positive masculinities and ending gender based violence

Gender Equality - Positive Masculinities
#8

Hello all. To me, gender based violence is that type of violence which happens between a man and wife, girl and boy. This violence could be either physical or emotional. The victim/ survivor depends on the situation i.e it could be a man in certain instances and a woman to some. This violence usually takes place at but not limited to home. Even in workplaces it is not surprising to find it.

Men could play an important role by using their influence to be exemplary everywhere to highlight GBV and also teach that it is not ok. Men could join campaigns and spread the message far and wide that women are not punching bag, they are not sex objects but humans equal to them who ought to be treated fairly. They could use their influence in every sphere of their life, be it church or social clubs to advocate for the rights of women and how to reduce cases of GBV. Women too should compliment men in these efforts.

#9

Hello :wave:
1.What is your understanding of gender-based violence?
Is any act of violence that results in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.
2.How can Positive masculinities be a solution to end gender-based violence?
Men have a responsibility to make sure they give time and space to listen to women and to work on the ideas and challenges they face and not to make men accept only men’s directives. violence against women even at the community level in general.
Men have a responsibility to provide decision-making positions for women at higher levels of decision-making in families and communities.
It is time for men to realize that the issue of child rearing is the responsibility of husband and wife and not just wife to create equality for children in the family and not to exclude children from gender.

#10

Hello everyone

Week 3 continues!

Great contributions so far about the understanding of gender based violence. We ask this because it can mean a lot of different things to different people. A lot of times it is associated with abuse of women and children but I also like and acknowledge the contributions that state that both men and women can be abused, the difference is that men tend not to report cases of abuse. When we talk about gender, we are not only talking about women but about both sexes.

One of our resource persons @⁨SK⁩ mentioned that GBV is can of worms that is fueled everywhere. He further mentioned that we need to focus on the root causes of GBV and take care of the smaller issues that trigger the big issues like how men and women or boys and girls relate.

In finding a relationship between positive masculinities and ending GBV, @Donjosh said parents need to raise boys and girls with the values and practices of transformative masculinities. @AnjelinaMkabili said society should stop judging what a certain individual is doing based on their gender e.g. a man cooking in the house but should know everyone can do any kind of work or chores. Someone also said men should use their power to create opportunities for women to take up high decision making positions not with the mind of challenging men.

That is just a few quotations as there are more contributions. Most people believe men should consider women as important in the community and that will help them not abuse women, women should be involved in everything men do, positive masculinity helping one realise the need for recognizing his or her responsibilities while observing the rights of others

Lets keep discussing!

#11

Do you know why the number of divorce is increasing day by day?

women misinterpreted gender role.

People according to my understanding , there are certain things which women can be given to do

women want to be superior than men

Women want to be head of a house .

**** You can’t put on a lady make dress just because you want to balance gender.
###* in leadership everyone is involved
*Decision making everyone is involved

The important issue is to end GBV
Which means no one should treated badly

#12

Hello everyone!
Week 3 submissions.

What is your understanding of gender based violence.

ANS: Gender based violence refers to violence against a person due to their gender.
However,in our society the word GBV is usually associated to violence against women and girls. This violence can either be physical,verbal emotional and mental abuse.Deprivation of fundamental freedoms and liberties because of one’s gender is also a form of gender based violence.
Men on the other hand despite being victims of gender based violence do not come out in the open and report such cases for fear of being laughing stocks in the communities.
This is mainly attributed to the cultural norm that men are always strong.
To date gender based violence cases against men are still under reported due to stigma associated with the consequences of bringing such cases to the fore.

How can positive masculinities be a solution to ending gender based violence?
ANS: Men must be involved in programs that seeks to end gender inequality which contributes to gender based violence.
The government and cooperating partners must engage men and boys to champion practices that seeks to achieve gender equality.
Men and boys can be involved in spreading messages about the importance of women in national development.
Men must be in the fore front to condemn violence against women and girls.
Men should simply take a leading role in promoting responsible practices of how they should behave towards members of society.

Men should begin to view women as reliable partners if they are to achieve meaningful development in societies and nation as a whole.
Men should never ever look at women as fragile but challenge them to make bold decisions about their life on how they can stay independent and confident as well as take up positions of influence in the affairs of the country.

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#13

Hope women you enjoyed your day

Am thinking of creating Men’s day that’s only way we can teach each other concerning gender balance.
There’s no one teaching men to understand gender unless someone went to school, now what about those men who’re not educated.
Most of times women are learning and told about gender in there meeting places including like International women’s day
I submit

#14

Morning everyone

Yesterday was a great day. It was nice to see the International Women’s Day being honoured and broadcasters sharing about the day’s events.

We are still in Week 3, about your understanding of gender based violence and how positive masculinities can be a solution to end GBV.

It is quite interesting to note the comments on this and how some people believe women are sometimes the cause of the abuse they suffer. Some even believe gender equality would cause women to disrespect and challenge men negatively.

What is your take? Is gender equality about shifting power from men to women or is it about equal responsibilities?

We have been talking about positive masculinities and last week we saw how culture and religion has an influence on male superiority or power. The question is how can we use that superiority or power to end the violence against women and girls since they are the most who suffer GBV?

Let us hear from you!

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#15

Wow! It’s week three already and personally I have learnt of things from this platform. To answer this week’s discussion firstly.

  1. What is your understanding of gender based violence?

· According to my understanding gender based violence is Gender-based violence is a phenomenon deeply rooted in gender inequality, and continues to be one of the most notable human rights violations within all societies. Gender-based violence is violence directed against a person because of their gender. Both women and men experience gender-based violence but the majority of victims are women and girls.

· For example in Zambia more than a third of all women and girls have experienced physical violence in their lives, and 17% of women have experienced sexual violence. The country faces some of the highest rates of reported gender-based violence in the world.

· Gender-based violence and violence against women are terms that are often used interchangeably as it has been widely acknowledged that most gender-based violence is inflicted on women and girls, by men. However, using the ‘gender-based’ aspect is important as it highlights the fact that many forms of violence against women are rooted in power inequalities between women and men.

  1. How can positive masculinities be a solution to ending gender based violence?

· Men are Key to stop or reduce gender based violence by getting involved in childcare and form closer connections with your children from the beginning.

· Also Children e.g. boys should be raised freely /same way like girls and free from harmful stereotypes.

· Men should seek opportunities to really listen to women’s stories, acknowledge their experiences, and then inform other men and participate in campaigns aiming to prevent violence against women.

· Challenge harmful masculine norms that encourage violence among other genders. Open up and talk with your friends, peers, and coworkers: call out sexist ideas, jokes, and language; reflect on the ways you have been raised, and how to continue to do better as allies for gender equality.

Thanks.

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#16

Gender based violence is any harm or violence which is inflicted on someone because of gender,can be physical where someone is assaulted or can even be emotional etc .Both men and women experience gender based violence though the majority of victims of gbv are women and girls.

I feel for gbv to end there is need to co-exist between a man and woman as well as the need to continue sensitizing the communities in order to prevent and advocate against Gbv.I feel there is also need for Gbv survivors to come on the open and talk about what they are going through especially where violence is concerned because alot of women thou are the ones who are much abused keep quiet and hence no help is given to them.
Traditional leaders are also vital if gbv is to end especially through sensitization through different programs that aim to discourage gbv to the young boys at a tender age thereby already impacting them with positive masculinity

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#17

Good afternoon,

Happy Woman International Day and Month,

My response to what I understand what gender based violence is

This is violence that maybe in form of physical, emotional and psychological inflicted towards an individual regardless of their gender orientation, either Male or Female,

2.How can positive masculinities be a solution to ending gender-based violence?

Having identified that to achieve the goal of peace, men and women should work together to establish ways and means of moving, empowering, and working together to celebrate our different gender orientations without looking down on anyone, we need each other as human beings to achieve the good,

It’s not a competition of who is better, but in diversity, we are strong together as a unit, Men who are victims of violence just as women should speak out against the vice, and seek counsel if they happen to be the ones victimized, it also helps to identify reliable people in the community who can help in such cases.

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#18

My Names are Joseph Mashingo from Kwenje Radio(Chama).

My understanding on gender based violence is: Gender-based violence refers to any type of harm that is perpetrated against a person or group of people because of their factual or perceived sex, gender, sexual orientation and/or gender identity .

Gender-based violence is based on an imbalance of power and is carried out with the intention to humiliate and make a person or group of people feel inferior and/ or subordinate . This type of violence is deeply rooted in the social and cultural structures, norms and values that govern society, and is often perpetuated by a culture of denial and silence. Gender-based violence can happen in both the private and public spheres and it affects women disproportionately.

Gender-based violence can be sexual, physical, verbal, psychological (emotional), or socio-economic and it can take many forms, from verbal violence and hate speech on the Internet, to rape or murder. It can be perpetrated by anyone : a current or former spouse/partner, a family member, a colleague from work, schoolmates, friends, an unknown person, or people who act on behalf of cultural, religious, state, or intra-state institutions. Gender-based violence , as with any type of violence, is an issue involving relations of power . It is based on a feeling of superiority , and an intention to assert that superiority in the family, at school, at work, in the community or in society as a whole.

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#19

Hello everyone

All contributions acknowledged. Gender based violence is really a serious issue. Both women and men experience gender-based violence but the majority of victims are women and girls . Gender-based violence and violence against women are terms that are often used interchangeably as it has been widely acknowledged that most gender-based violence is inflicted on women and girls, by men.

There are different causes of gender based violence. I will point just two, socialization and situational factors. Socialization is a process where people learn specific social behavior, along with the rules, attitudes, values, and norms that guide interactions with others. Situational factors refer to the characteristics of the environment, such as stress or
aggression in others, that encourage violent behavior. In this case for an example, if a child grew up in an abusive environment, chances are s/he will be abusive in the future. Not all of them though. Taking into account these causes, there is a lot that needs to be done in the family, community and society at large. In Week 1 we shared our understanding of positive masculinities and the popular understanding was about men using their physical and emotional strength to champion healthy behaviours and communities. A healthy community is one where ALL residents have access to quality education, safe and healthy homes etc. So I believe positive masculinities can be a solution to ending gender based violence and this can be done by men encouraging healthy behaviours. They can do this through role modelling and campaigns so that our youth can learn from them.

#20

Hello Folks, Am Alfred James Mungwa Producer and Presenter of Agricultural Radio Program at Nyimba FM Radio in Zambia.

Here is my understanding on this week’s Relationship between Positive masculinity and ending gender based violence.
Firstly.

Gender-Based violence, by definition, can be refered to as any harmful act that is directed at an individual based on their gender.

It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms.

These three parameters are found to be core areas of discussion when it comes to GBV issues.
For relationship between positive masculinity and ending gender based violence, one has to think about how male physical, emotional and psychological effects on women can be stopped and rather turned into much more support for them. A situation where men meat out obnoxious acts to females, should rather be reversed. They should show love and compassion by sharing household work load and allowing women some breathing space.

When man have the power to slap on the face of his wife, he should rather ask questions for explanation and dialogue. Men should also allow women to take decisions at home level, because women are very intelligent and good managers.
In short, exerting physical strength on women by beating them or passing them through psychological stress should be turned to love and compassion. These are some of the ways positive masculinity can end gender based violence.

On the other hand, Some women misinterpret what gender equality is, they end up big headed to their husbands such that they complete stop respecting them, and due to this we have high numbers of divorces than ever before, high numbers of husbands committing suicides.

I submit

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#21

Hello guys.
I would like to share my opinions about the topic, as following.

GBV is any type of violence excessively perpetrated against a particular person or groups of people because of their gender.

Gender-based violence (GBV) undermines the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims, yet it remains shrouded in a culture of silence. Victims of violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and even death.

During the last few decades, gender-based violence (GBV) has gained international
recognition as a grave social and human rights concern. In Tanzania, GBV is widespread. In the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey shows over 20% of Tanzanian women aged 15-49 years reported having
experienced sexual violence in their lifetime and nearly 40% reported having experienced
physical violence.
The same survey showed that 44% of ever-married women had
experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Somehow there is a growing awareness of GBV and increased efforts at a policy
level to address the issue, for some few people who’re aware of it, as the statistics shows mostly women’s are more affected than men, it’s our task to educate the others so as to avoid it.

2 Likes
#22

Q1…Gender-based violence (GBV) in Zambia takes the form of physical, mental, social or economic abuse against a person because of that person’s gender and includes violence that may result in physical, sexual or psychological harm and suffering to the victim. It may also include threats or coercion, or the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether in public or private life.

Women in Zambia experience a variety of forms of violence including battery, sexual abuse and exploitation, rape, defilement (rape of a child) and incest.

Similarly, the 2017 Gender Based Violence third-quarter report indicates that the total number of GBV cases in just one quarter countrywide was 16,090, compared to 13,092 cases in 2016 during the same period—a 18.6% increase.

Esther Katongo, the public relations officer for the Zambia police, said when releasing the report that there had been an increase in physical GBV cases such as those involving assault and murder

Q2…
Can we have men and boys to understand and say that "because I am a man, I should be gentle to my wife and children? Yes, imagine every man accepts that all men are strong than women, but as a result, you should not use that advantage to harm the weaker women?
Changes have to be made to involve men and boys in stopping patriarchal norms.

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#23

Hello everyone

Today is the last day of Week 3, if you have not contributed yet, please make sure you do.

I am looking at a few responses especially on the question of how positive masculinities can be a solution to ending gender based violence. The following responses show that men really need to step up and embrace positive masculinities.

I also want to share a project called “Men as Partners” that was conducted by Sonke Gender Justice in South Africa.

Through the Men as Partners network, Sonke aims to involve men in communities in preventing gender violence and HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support.

Why work with men?

Sonke Gender Justice believes that working with men is a critical strategy for achieving gender equality. Over the last 10 years there has been growing international consensus on the need to further include boys and men in promoting gender equality. This includes recognition by UNAIDS that the behaviour of men and boys puts themselves and their partners at risk of HIV infection.

Sonke Gender Justice’s Men as Partners Initiative aims to:

  • Decrease levels of violence against women and children
  • Involve men in the lives of their partners, children, families and communities.
  • Get men to us HIV services, such as condoms, circumcision, VCT, ART, and support groups.
  • Increase men’s involvement in treatment advocacy and home based care activities.
  • Increase men’s support and advocacy for PMTCT programmes and PEP.
  • Reduce alcohol abuse and alcohol related violence and HIV risk.
  • Increase public sector and civil society roll out of effective male involvement initiatives.

Project Activities

The work that Sonke Gender Justice is involved in includes:

  • Intensive training and ongoing technical assistance to carefully selected partner organisations to build government and civil society capacity to implement male involvement projects.
  • Support for men to take action in communities to prevent violence against women and to promote greater male involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support.
  • Bringing together key stakeholders to identify and develop strategies for increasing men’s use of HIV services.
  • Training communities groups to use the media to develop messages that encourage men to pursue health seeking behaviours and challenge the attitudes and values contributing to gender based violence.
    https://genderjustice.org.za/project/project-archive/men-as-partners/

You can also check out the MenEngage Africa project https://genderjustice.org.za/project/regional-programmes-networks/menengage-africa/

#24

Hello my good people as we come to an end of this week 3 discusion this is my submission

GBV is any type of violence excessively perpetrated against a particular person or groups of people because of their gender.

Gender-based violence (GBV) undermines the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims, yet it remains shrouded in a culture of silence. Victims of violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and even death.

During the last few decades, gender-based violence (GBV) has gained international
recognition as a grave social and human rights concern. In Zambia GBV is widespread. Demographic and Health Survey shows over 20% of Zambian women aged 15-49 years reported having
experienced sexual violence in their lifetime and nearly 75% reported having experienced
physical violence.
The same survey showed that 54% of ever-married women had
experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Somehow there is a growing awareness of GBV and increased efforts at a policy
level to address the issue, for some few people who’re aware of it, as the statistics shows mostly women’s are more affected than men, it’s our task to educate the others so as to avoid it.

2 Likes
#25

Now is the right time for mens to make sure they give women the opportunity to grow economically and politically.

2 Likes
#26

Week 3 Submission:

Most of us have defined GBV; so I’ll go straight to suggest some solutions to this social problem:

1. Anger Management

  • I strongly believe failure to manage ones anger in a relationship is the root cause of GBV.

  • To me, GBV is, simply put, a consequence of failing to handle anger during a conflict.

  • Thus, both men and women, especially married couples, need to be taught how to master anger management techniques such as time-out or pause.

2. Dialogue

  • Couples need to talk things over, and not beat each other to the grave.

  • Parents should teach children how to use dialogue to resolve disputes from a tender age. This way, the youngsters will master the art of dialogue and take it into their homes.

  • Then and only then, will we see an increase in dialoguing adults and a reduction in GBV cases in Africa and beyond.

3. Couple Counseling

  • Some couples simply can’t dialogue; they simply can’t stand each other.

  • These might need external help or mediation in form of counselling.

  • Counseling should be encouraged in our African society to help prevent issues from escalating into GBV cases.

  • The counselor will act as a mediator for the couple in conflict.

  • I’m so focused on married couples because GBV cases ( in Zambia at least) are more prevalent among them.

3. Breaking Silence

  • Both male and female GBV victims should first report the cases to relevant authorities to help matters.

  • They should as well not shun the media, but become stop GBV ambassadors in society.

  • Also, people should freely and openly discuss GBV issues in the mass media to create a GBV free society for all.

4. Stop GBV Campaign

  • Governments, NGOs, churches and the media should start (or continue) GBV campaigns to create awareness and, ultimately, end the vice.

  • The campaigns should be implemented in local languages to reach a lot of people in the target group.

5. Positive Masculinity

  • Finally, positive masculinity is closely linked to ending GBV in so many ways. A man who respects women could never perpetrate GBV. He understands that a woman feels pain just like him. A man who treats women as equal partners in development would never do anything to harm them. He understands that GBV is retrogressive and for cowards. A real man who is 💯 human would never beat a woman because he knows all human beings enjoy equal human rights. No one should infringe on another’s rights by inflicting pain.

I submit 😊!

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#27

Hello everyone

I am sharing a contribution from one of our resource people who participates on WhatsApp, SK Mabulu:

"Dear all, I’ve read the comments on gender equality especially from colleagues who spoke yesterday and early today. I’ve worked in this journey of gender equality for at least 15 years now. My clan name is Tshawe, Tshawe clan is very respected in South Africa since it is one of the royal families. In other words I’m expected to promote culture and traditions as to keep the standard of the family. When I joined the gender equality space, my mindset shifted a bit. I began to enjoy the benefits of gender equality. e.g. drive with my wife wherever and enjoy, buy something for my wife even if it’s chocolate and any thing that shows love, kiss my wife before I go to work, chat positively with her, we both prepare ourselves before sexual intercourse, understand that oral sex is important to her than to always think of just penetration, cook together, talk when I have a concern etc. As a traditional person, I’ve been told - not to spend more time with women because I will be weak, not to perform house keeping work, that men should have multiple partners, that I am the head of the house, that men don’t cry etc. I refused to follow things that make life difficult for myself.

I believe that gender equality has a lot of benefits to us men and most men know that but they afraid of betraying their culture. Culture is dynamic, meaning it changes. We can’t allow people living with fear. I can’t believe that someone will enjoy torture rather than saying this had became a norm. It’s like when you are in prison and you have no way to go because everyone believes what they believe. You then decide to associate yourself with others to protect yourself in the situation.

It is not easy to shift the mindset or making others believe but it is something we need to do. We need to transform ourselves as ambassadors first because we are also trapped on these challenges. If we don’t do well, we make the situation even worse because we are the role models of people we know and people we don’t know. To bring peace in this world gender equality is one of the answers, Aluta Continua!"

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