Over 30 people from seven countries in Asia and the Pacific came together recently to develop effective and sustainable strategies to communicate findings from The Change Project in their advocacy, public awareness, community and programming activities.

The Change Project is coordinated by Partners for Prevention, a UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNV regional programme for Asia and the Pacific. It aims to consolidate a pioneering body of research on masculinities and their connections to violence against women to inform evidence-based responses to violence prevention.

The meeting took place October 31-November 2 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and brought together representatives from the UN, civil society, academia, and researchers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam; leading researchers from key international GBV research projects including IMAGES, the WHO Multi-Country Study on Violence against Women and the Medical Research...

The United Nations Secretary-General's UNiTE campaign has launched a T-Shirt Design Competition and are inviting young men ages 18 – 25 years old to use their imagination to prevent and end all forms of violence against women and girls and embody the concepts of equality, non-discrimination and respect in their designs. Five winners selected by twenty nine regional and five global judges, and one winner chosen by the Public Vote, will travel to New York to participate in the UN official observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which will take place on 22 November this year at UN Headquarters. For more information, see:http://unitetshirtcompetition.org/en/home

Deadline for applications: 28 September 2011

Date and Venue: 3-5 November 2011 in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Partners for Prevention is accepting applications from practitioners from the Asia-Pacific region to participate in a regional workshop aiming at building practical skills for those implementing, planning or considering primary prevention projects/programmes.The workshop will also be an opportunity to network and share experiences from projects and initiatives focused on primary prevention of gender-based violence from the Asia and Pacific region.

Partners for Prevention is drawing upon resource people with extensive experiences and expertise in primary prevention of gender-based violence, prevention programming, and gender-based violence research. All participants will be planning or implementing a primary prevention project or strategy.

Participants will share knowledge and skills to:

•Design and coordinate primary prevention projects based...

The Model UN session on the constructive dialogue between the CEDAW committee and Chinese delegation was held in Beijing Normal University on May 28th. 30 student representatives from 10 first tier universities from Beijing and Shanghai participated in the activity. 5 students represented the CEDAW Committee members and the rest acted as Chinese delegates from 10 ministries of Chinese government.
As part of the project on ‘Engaging Young Men through Social Media for the Prevention of Violence against Women’, this offline activity enhanced gender awareness and the understanding of CEDAW among young people. Before the model session, student participants studied CEDAW convention and researched current gender issues in China and produced a comprehensive report on the progress the Chinese government has made in improving gender equality and the existing problems and challenges. During the model session, participants discussed the status-quo of gender equality including violence...

A group of young NGO activists from South Asia recently took part in an 18-day study programme in Nepal aimed at developing understanding on the political, social and cultural aspects of masculinities in relation to gender justice. The study programme was conducted by the South Asian Network to Address Masculinities (SANAM), with support from Partners for Prevention, and is part of SANAM’s Capacity Development Initiative in South Asia project.

The study programme was conducted 1-18 February in Nepal. Thirty people from various backgrounds of work and research on issues related to gender equality and masculinities from four countries in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan), along with one each from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Philippines (totaling 33) participated in the study programme. Prominent experts from South Asia took part as resource persons.

The study programme used a training curriculum developed by SANAM that explores seven sub-themes: Conflict...

Must Bol is a call to young people to examine violence in their lives and speak out against it. The campaign is targeting youth in Delhi who are active and potential social media users, and uses creative media to generate thought-provoking discussions on gender and violence. The campaign has taken up issues of relevance to the inner circle of young people’s lives - self, body, family, peers, intimate relationships and workplace.

'In our engagement with young people we have witnessed how gender affects so many aspects of young people's lives and yet remains largely unquestioned. Violence emerging from gender goes largely unrecognized and routinised in many ways and even celebrated at times. There is great need for intervention and support, for placing gender in perspective and creating avenues for dialogue and discussion,' said Rama Rao, the facilitator of CYC’s Youth led Campaign. 'What is happening through this campaign is frank and open sharing of experiences and...

Engagingmen.net has launched the first issue of its community e-magazine, "16 Days of Activism: Our Collective Action". The e-magazine is available at www.engagingmen.net/e-magazine-issue-1 .

The e-magazine includes news, photos and video highlights of campaign activities conducted by Engagingmen.net members from around the globe, including community outreach activities, policy and advocacy campaigns, social media activism and youth mobilisation initiatives. The campaign activities highlighted in the e-magazine took place during the 2010 16 Days of Activism, between 25 November and 10 December. These events called for the elimination of all forms of violence against women, including the importance of involving men in the prevention of violence against women.

The Engagingmen.net (EMN) Community E-magazine series is designed as a forum for EMN members to reflect on...

James Lang, Coordinator of Partners for Prevention, gave a seminar at UNDP Headquarters to discuss the successes and challenges of the UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNV regional joint program that includes the core strategy of working with boys and men to prevent violence against women in Asia and the Pacific.

The event was made accessible within the UN family as well as to the public in real time via www.ustream.tv. Participants logged in from Antigua, Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, Guyana, and Fiji, and were able to post questions and hear the responses to them.

To watch the video, see: (http://www.engagingmen.net/video/sysop/2011/01/presentation...

Activists and practitioners working for gender justice and violence prevention in East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific met in Bangkok recently to outline a collective approach for knowledge creation and sharing across the region.

“By pulling together regionally and developing a body of knowledge and strategies for action that is pertinent to the experiences of our countries, we will strengthen and inspire our work and ultimately empower ourselves and those we work with” said Undarya Tumursukh, the National Coordinator of Mongolia Feminist Network.

“Our work is about transforming communities, attitudes, and behaviors on masculinities as a way to prevent gender-based violence,” said Nur Hasyim, Coordinator of the Men’s Programme of Rifka Annisa in Indonesia, “It is important to collectively improve our understanding, perspective, skills, and strategy on how to challenge masculinities and patriarchies.”

Participants outlined the plan to develop a regional...

Partners for Prevention, in collaboration with the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) is conducting research aimed at exploring the challenges Parliamentarian’s face in moving prevention policy forward, and developing a deeper understanding of how they can be supported in the key roles they can play in GBV prevention in their countries.

P4P recently interviewed MPs at the Regional Women Ministers’ and Parliamentarians Conference, “Review of Parliamentarians’ Actions and Legislations on the Elimination of Violence against Women,” on 21 -22 October , in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. At the conference, Partners for Prevention also gave a presentation about how to engage boys and men in the prevention of violence against women in the session “Men in Action on Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls”. Over 90 parliamentarians from 19 Asia-Pacific countries participated in the conference. The conference was organized by AFPPD in cooperation with...

Prevailing views on manhood in Cambodia are similar to those found in communities around the world: men are expected to be dominant over women and the main breadwinners within the household. According to a recent study conducted by Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC), some men also believe that men can use violence against women when their gendered roles are challenged.

The study - Deoum Troung Pram Hath in Modern Cambodia: A Qualitative Exploration of Gender Norms, Masculinity and Domestic Violence – examines the links between masculinity, gender, and domestic violence and aims to help identify effective means of preventing violence against women and children. The study was conducted with support from Partners for Prevention, the International Centre for Research on Women with additional funding from the UN Trust Fund for Ending Violence against Women.

A dominant view held by the respondents is that violence committed by men at home is seen less negatively...

The South Asian Network to Address Masculinities (SANAM) has developed a curriculum for practitioners in South Asia to foster commitment to work with boys and men to challenge gender-based inequalities and violence. The curriculum promotes a reflective mode of thinking that enables boys and men to challenge their own attitudes and behaviour patterns at an individual level – and then to apply their skills and passion to help inspire changes within communities and organizations.

SANAM consists of academics, practitioners, trainers and activists from around South Asia with diverse experience and expertise on masculinities and gender. SANAM has developed innovative strategies for deepening knowledge and inspiring change including an 18 day emersion in the curriculum and a mentorship plan to match experienced members with young practitioners who will be engaged throughout 2011 in implementing new activities in their local environment.

The curriculum includes a focus on...

Partners for Prevention recently launched Engagingmen.net, a new practitioners' portal for people around the world who are interested in engaging boys and men in gender justice. As of December 2010, around 600 individuals from around the world have become members of the web based portal. Members come from diverse backgrounds but share common interest in issues including women's empowerment, the prevention of violence against women, stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, promoting responsible fatherhood and healthy relationships, and more.

This interactive site aims to help practitioners develop and expand their knowledge on involving boys and men in supporting women’s empowerment and ending violence against women. The site includes a large online library of resources on gender justice, including toolkits, training manuals and research reports. It also provides special pages and topical groups to help practitioners connect with others in their region or field of interest. Members...

NGOs and communications experts met in Bangkok recently to explore the latest cutting edge platforms, tools and theories on using social media for social change. Seventeen participants from India, China, and Indonesia took part in the meeting, along with representatives from UNIFEM and Demand Media, a leading online media company and expert in developing social media platforms.

The meeting brought together the three organizations that are part of Partners for Prevention’s “Engaging Young Men through Social Media for the Prevention of Violence against Women” project, which aims to connect and inspire young people to take action to end violence against women and will be carried out in China, Indonesia, and India.

With the support of a leading expert on social media from Demand Media, participants explored the key principles of a social media campaign, the most effective social media tools available and how they can be used creatively to reach out to boys and men to...

What do masculinities have to do with gender-based violence? This is the question that brought together representatives from civil society, academic, research institutes and UN agencies from across the Asia-Pacific region last week to launch Partners for Prevention’s ground-breaking Gender-based Violence and Masculinities Research Project. The three-year project will enhance our understanding of the underlying causes of gender-based violence, build local and regional knowledge on how to engage men and boys to prevent violence, and lay a foundation to inspire future research on a global scale.

“We’ve come together to jump-start a body of research that will leave a legacy for gender justice in the region,” says P4P project coordinator James Lang. “This collective endeavor is building alliances between researchers, civil society, government and UN partners to catalyze innovation and guide our understanding gender-based violence prevention to new levels.”

The program’s “...