Sonke Gender Justice Network and MenEngage Africa are conducting an International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Malawi – in close cooperation with national partners such as Congo Men’s Network and the Parent and Child Initiative (PACHI). 

The United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD) held its 45th Session in New York in April this year. The Commission supports and monitors the implementation of the Programme of Action that was agreed upon by 179 countries at the International Population and Development Conference (ICPD) in Cairo, 1994.  The CPD's 45th session was informed by the UN Secretary General’s report on Adolescents and Youth.

The UN Trust Fund and Sonke Gender Justice Network project has finally been launched in all three participating countries: Kenya, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The project will engage men and boys to strengthen the implementation of gender-based violence laws and policies and to promote gender equality in the three nations.

The movie Can't just Fold Your Arms documents a year in the life of Sonke Gender Justice Network’s quest to transform men in post-Apartheid South Africa.

Across the world, men are joining with women to prevent domestic and sexual violence, reduce the spread of HIV and the impact of AIDS and promote less restrictive, more flexible gender roles. This new and growing movement is an untold story of HIV and AIDS and gender activism in the 21st century, and part of a broader human rights and social change agenda for the coming decades. 

In Choma, Zambia, victims of gender-based violence (GBV) can seek counselling and support from local organisations, the Victim Support Unit, and the Law Development Association. Lawyers working for the Law Development Association help survivors file lawsuits against perpetrators of gender-based violence and assist them through all the administrative and judiciary processes.

As part of Reproductive Health Uganda’s (RHU) strategy to involve men as service users, every Saturday is designated to give special attention to men who visit the clinic. On this day, two service providers, one male and one female, are positioned in two different service-provision rooms to attend to men as fast as possible without making male clients wait for a long time. The day is advertised on radio stations, and most men now know that Saturday is their day.

The Kariba FM Radio Trust in Siavonga District, Zambia, has joined the movement against gender-based violence (GBV). The radio station is situated in Siavonga, 200km south of Lusaka, an isolated rural town with high levels of HIV/AIDS and violence. The community is heavily embedded in patriarchal beliefs and over the years there has been an increase in violence on women and girls.

In the 100-year history of the Nobel Peace Prize, only twelve women have received it. But in 2006, six of those women –  Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire – came together to found the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Their vision is a non-violent world of security, equality and well-being for all. One of their key initiatives is a campaign to Stop Rape and Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Sonke Gender Justice and the University of Cape Town are excited to announce the first MenEngage Africa Training Initiative, taking place in August 2012.

We know that it is not enough for governing bodies to make commitments and declarations – they must implement them for their words to mean anything in order to create positive change in society.

Marcel Chisi is the National Chairperson of Men for Gender Equality Now (MEGEN) in Malawi. MEGEN, the oldest men’s organization for gender equality in the country, began in 1997 when it originally assembled as the Malawi Human Resource Centre (MHRC). Since its founding, the group has worked tirelessly to espouse “a philosophy of working with men to engage with fellow men.”