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2016: The year of Engaging Men and Boys in stopping gender-based violence

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How a school curriculum-based approach can work

Gender-based violence devastates the lives of women, girls, families and communities worldwide. But progress to reduce gender-based violence is possible – and reaching young people through education is key. This briefing paper describes CARE’s work to engage men and boys through a curriculum-based approach in order to challenge and change the social norms and attitudes that cause and perpetuate violence. It concludes with recommendations focusing on the role that donors, governments, civil society and education specialists can play to ensure that successes can be replicated and scaled up.

The paper outlines how CARE has developed programmes to engage men and boys for over 15 years, drawing in particular on evidence from the curriculum-based approach developed in the Balkans, and on a three-year pilot programme in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Key recommendations include governments including discussion about gender roles, healthy sexual relationships, positive masculinities and femininities, violence prevention and gender equality in the school curriculum; and donors funding specific programmes such as curriculum approaches that target men and boys for GBV reduction, in addition to providing funding for women's organisations and supporting services for survivors.

Countries: Bosnia and Herzegowina, Burundi, Croatia, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of Congo, Global, Serbia

Published: November 2015