P4P delivers keynote speech, presents new research on Aceh at ‘Engaging Men in Building Gender Equality’ conference

Partners for Prevention gave a keynote speech to gender advocates and researchers at the ‘Engaging Men in Building Gender Equality’ conference, which took place 28-30 November in Wollongong, Australia. The conference, aimed at understanding current work in the critical study of men and masculinities, was organized by The Centre for Research on Men and Masculinities (CROMM) in the University of Wollongong. Partners for Prevention Programme Coordinator, James Lang, gave a keynote speech that outlined new data on men’s experiences and use of violence that has emerged as a result of Partners for Prevention’s multi-country study which interviewed more than 10,000 men and women across seven countries in the Asia-Pacific region to explore the connections between masculinities, gender and power. One outcome of the presentation was discussions on the different ways different theories of gender and masculinities can be applied to the P4P data set – very helpful food for thought for future analysis. Life history data from Aceh that was collected as part of The Change Project was also presented at the conference by David Duriesmith. According to the paper, entitled Negotiating equality and colonialism through the lives of twelve Acehnese men, to be available later this year, the research showed that men who opposed women’s equality with men justified this as a way of protecting Acehnese culture. For other men, protecting local arrangements that had historically ensured women’s rights were seen as important aspects of Acehnese culture that need to be protected. The anti-colonial politics of these respondents provided a promising basis for engaging men in gender politics. The paper points to the importance of regionally specific data, and the potential of qualitative data to help gender programmes identify effective entry-points and strategies for working with men and boys in the Asia Pacific region. Nur Haysim, founder of Aliansi Laki-Laki Baru (the New Men Alliance, a national alliance of men and women in Indonesia who aim to create a space for critical dialogue on men and masculinities) and a former technical advisor to P4P, also presented on the topic of ‘Endless Journey To Engage Men In Ending Violence Against Women In Nusa Tenggara Indonesia’. He provided reflections on a VAW awareness raising initiative designed to engage men in East and West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. He outlined strategies that were used to encourage men to understand how forms of gender innequality operated in their daily life. The ultimate goal was to encourage men to transform their attitudes and behaviours, to be more gender sensitive. For more information see: http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/research/cromm/workshops/UOW134355.html