Uniting men and women to combat gender -based violence

In many sub-Saharan African countries, judicial systems and traditional courts still fail to recognize domestic violence as a crime. Violence may be considered an appropriate response if a wife argues with her husband, fails to have food ready at meal time, or goes out without her husband’s permission. Last November, Camfed teamed up with Padare, an organization in Zimbabwe partnering with men to tackle the imbalance in relationships that leads to violence against women. Together, Camfed and Padare are engaging community leaders and young men in workshops about the need to identify and address barriers to women’s equality.

Here, Usher Mande, who coordinates the partnership between Camfed and Padare talks about how the two organizations are creating a safe space where men can discuss gender roles.

Camfed Voice: What is the purpose of the workshops?

Usher Mande: One of our primary goals is to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Gender-based violence takes many forms and sex can be part of it. Violence in the home can be a matter of men insisting they will not use a condom, which of course perpetuates the transmission of AIDS from person to person. Reducing violence and reducing HIV/AIDS go together.

CV: Who participates in the workshops and how do they work?

UM: We invite influential people: village chiefs, headmasters of school, heads of government departments. If you are to change people’s attitudes you must engage people who others look up to. Especially when you are talking about traditional practices that perpetuate gender violence or injustice, it is important to engage the village chiefs, who have authority in that realm.

We are also involving 12 male champions–counselors who we train to bring new concepts of gender roles back to their villages. They attend a workshop which involves reexamining their preconceptions. We divide them into small groups and ask them to discuss topics such as how they define masculinity, how they define fatherhood. After examining their views, the hope is that they arrive at a position which is more gender-sensitive, and that they will return to their communities and begin to mobilize other people.

CV: How do the workshops help Camfed in its mission?

UM: Camfed empowers women to become educated and economically active. But if we empower the women and we don’t empower the men, it means we are not solving the problem. By bringing men into the picture to help in the fight against poverty, we are completing a unit. We are creating a complementary relationship between the sexes.

CV: How have men responded? Was there any resistance?

UM: No, not at all. Even the village chiefs were very happy to participate. After the workshops, I phoned the participants to get their reaction to what they learned, and they were all very enthusiastic. They said, “We must start educating others. We can no longer pretend that domestic violence is not there.” It inspired them to take the initiative to make changes in their own communities. They realized that their new perspective would be a gift to their community.

CV: What do you hope men take away when the leave?

UM: First and foremost, people must understand that manhood does not mean bullying or using risky behavior. Also, we want people to analyze their communities when they go back, to be looking for abusive situations and areas where they need to improve the gender sensitivity of their neighbors. Finally, we want them to become familiar with Zimbabwe’s gender-based violence act, and to take action against perpetrators of violence when necessary.

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