Redefining What It Means to be a Man

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — “We need to redefine what it means to be a man, reinforce zero tolerance of gender-based violence, and make sexual and reproductive health services more relevant and user-friendly for men,” Purnima Mane, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, told participants in a global symposium on gender equality here today.

Nearly 500 delegates from all over the world are meeting in Rio de Janeiro this week to discuss how men can help improve gender equality, prevent domestic and sexual violence, and improve maternal and reproductive health for themselves and their partners.

“We have worked with women to promote gender equality for the past 30 years, but that is not enough. If men are part of the problem, they must also be part of the solution,” said Marcos Nascimento, Director of the Brazilian non-governmental organization Promundo and co-chair of the MenEngage Alliance.

Speaking on Men, health, sexuality and HIV/AIDS, Ms. Mane explained that our gender roles can determine the extent of our vulnerability to the HIV infection. Research in nine Latin American countries found that young men, aged 10 to 24, were far more concerned with achieving and preserving their masculinity than with their health. Another study found that expectations about male behaviour may result in early sexual initiation and more sexual partners, less intimacy in relationships and reluctance to use condoms.

Ms. Mane said that men, women, boys and girls have the right not to conform to rigid concepts of masculinity and femininity that deny the fulfillment of their potential as human beings and make them more vulnerable to disease.

On the topic of gender-based violence, she called for the training of uniformed personnel and law enforcement so that they can respond appropriately, for working with men and boys to change their attitudes and behaviours, and for launching public awareness campaigns and legal reform.

Globally, about one in three women have experienced some form of abuse, and about one in five have been sexually abused.

A few concrete examples of initiatives to prevent gender-based violence include:

• The Brazilian Government has established a number of police stations for women who have suffered from gender-based violence. Only specially trained female police officers work at these stations. In addition, an education centre for men who have committed gender-based violence was established in Nova Iguaçu this week. As part of their sentence, the men go through a five month-long training and an awareness-raising course about the implications of violence against women.
• In Indonesia, UNFPA helped enlist religious leaders, along with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment, to provide services and shelters for abused women.
  In the context of social unrest and widespread violence in Algeria, UNFPA, in cooperation with other UN organizations, worked with the Government to address violence against women and combat gender inequality, based on human rights principles.
• In Zimbabwe, UNFPA helped facilitate legislation against domestic violence.

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) challenged men to play their full part in the fight for gender equality. The 15th anniversary of the ICPD Programme of Action is being marked this year.

“Engaging Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality” is the first ever global symposium to focus specifically on the role of men in improving gender equality. The meeting is hosted by Promundo; MenEngage, an alliance of NGOs working with men and boys; Instituto Papai, a feminist organization based in Recife, Brazil; Save the Children Sweden; the White Ribbon Campaign; and UNFPA.

Contact Information:

Trygve Olfarnes
Tel: +52 55 5250-7977
olfarnes@unfpa.org

Omar Gharzeddine
Tel: +1-212-297-5028
gharzeddine@unfpa.org