Men and Boys

Parivartan, which means transformation, engaged cricket coaches and mentors in schools and the community to teach boys lessons about controlling aggression, preventing violence, and promoting respect. Based on the US-based program, Coaching Boys into Men developed by Futures Without Violence, the program engages coaches as positive role models and trains them to deliver messages to their male athletes about the importance of respecting women and understanding violence never equals strength. ICRW along with Futures Without Violence partnered with the Mumbai Schools Sports Association and the non-governmental organization Apnalaya to implement Parivartan in the formal school system and the slum community of Shivaji Nagar, respectively. This report describes the three-year program and summarizes key findings from the evaluation conducted by ICRW.

The unique potential of adolescent girls to contribute to reducing and ending poverty both for themselves and their communities, often referred to as the “Girl Effect,” has been increasingly recognized over the last decade. There is a broad consensus on the desirability of involving boys and men in efforts to change harmful gender norms and create more equitable environments for girls, there is less agreement as to how this is best achieved.

In October 2010, ICRW, with support from the Nike Foundation and in collaboration with Plan International and Save the Children, convened a meeting of researchers, program implementers and donors to explore the question of how to best involve boys in efforts to achieve gender equality. This paper summarizes the meeting, which highlighted progress in conceptualizing programs that involve boys and men in efforts to bring about fundamental changes in the gendered nature of relationships. It also pointed to the significant amount of work that is still to be done before these goals are achieved.

Great numbers of men report experiencing violence as children and these experiences have significant lifelong effects, according to the new analysis of the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) dataset included in this report. Adult men who were victims or witnesses of domestic violence as children, for instance, likely come to accept violence as a conflict-resolving tactic not only in intimate partnerships but also in their wider lives. Experiences of violence as children can also significantly influence how men relate to their partners and children and whether they show more or less gender-equitable attitudes. Men who experience violence as children are also consistently more likely to report low self-esteem and regular experiences of depression.

Using IMAGES data from six countries (Brazil, Chile, Croatia, India, Mexico, and Rwanda), this report explores the prevalence and nature of violence against children as well as its potential lifelong effects. The report expands understanding of these issues by examining data from low- and middle-income countries, analyzing men’s reports of experiencing and perpetrating violence, and exploring broad categories of lifelong effects.