Ending VAW requires the collaboration of all community members. There is a growing awareness that men, in partnership with women, can play a significant role in ending VAW. This has led to an increase in programmes and activities that focus on men’s roles in prevention.
Men must be key players in the evolution of the global gender equality movement. As key decision-makers at the global, regional, national, community, family, and individual levels, they hold the key to ensuring gender equality and the elimination of all forms of discrimination, including VAW. Male support for gender equality has increasingly been recognized as a critical area, especially since the 1994 Population and Development Conference in Cairo, Egypt. Involving males in their roles as siblings, partners, fathers, leaders, and decision-makers at different levels in the movement towards gender equality is a critical strategy.
Around the world, a growing number of organizations have been mainstreaming gender equality in their work and engaging men in VAW prevention efforts. A small number of organizations in the Arab region have adopted this approach, and some have implemented effective and ‘creative’ types of interventions.
This training resource was developed for use in Arab countries in order to teach the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to promote gender equality and to prevent VAW through the effective engagement of men. It explores the concepts surrounding VAW, what factors are involved, and the consequences of VAW. It presents case studies, tips, and lessons learned, drawn from different experiences and from programmes that work with men as partners in VAW prevention. As these programmes become more popular, and as more men take leadership roles on this issue, we are hopeful that the high prevelance of VAW will be significantly reduced and that all human relationships will come closer to embodying ideals of respect, mutual empowerment, growth, and development.
This introductory section focuses on the purpose of the training manual, identifies target users, provides indications on how to use the manual, provides some tips for facilitators to help make the training a success, and advises on the use of participatory methodologies during training.
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