Engaging Boys and Men in Gender Transformation: The Group Education Manual

"In many settings, men and boys may learn that being a “real man” means being strong and aggressive and having multiple sexual partners. They may also be conditioned not to express their emotions and to use violence to resolve conflicts in order to maintain their “honor.” Changing how we raise and view men and boys is not easy, but it is a necessary part of promoting healthier and more equitable communities...

From EngenderHealth's ACQUIRE project and Promundo, this is an educational manual for working with men to question non-equitable views about masculinity and develop more positive attitudes to prevent unhealthy behaviours that put them and their partners and families at risk. It can also be used to train facilitators who will implement workshop activities with groups of men.

This manual highlights the importance of linking educational activities to action. It introduces the Ecological Model (see page 14 for details). This tool, often used during action-planning in workshops, allows the participants to take the knowledge and skills gained in the workshop and put them into action for social change. At the end of every activity, participants can make a record of their suggestions for addressing the issues they have raised.

The manual contains the following sections:

• Part I provides background on gender and power.
• Part II provides guidelines and exercises for facilitators to gain the basic skills and information needed to carry out workshop activities.
• Part III provides sample agendas. The sessions in this manual can be conducted continuously over several days or can be spread out over time.
• Part IV presents a range of male engagement (ME) workshop activities, organised into 10 thematic sections. The activities draw on an experiential learning model in which men are encouraged to question and analyse their own experiences and lives to understand how gender can perpetuate unequal power in relationships, and make both women and men vulnerable to reproductive health problems as well as HIV and AIDS. The activities engage men to think about how they can make positive changes in their lives and communities. This process of questioning and change takes time. Organisers have found that it is preferable to use the activities as a complete set (or use groups of activities from the different sections), rather than using just one or two activities. Many of the activities complement each other and when used together, contribute to richer and more rewarding reflections than if used alone. Since most of the activities are participatory, they are most effective when carried out with small groups of 10 to 20 participants.
• Part V contains appendices, which include an observation and feedback form for facilitators of workshops and a pre- and post-test to administer to participants to assess the impact of the training.

This manual is a compilation of the most frequently used activities from two educational curricula: Promundo’s Program H Manual and EngenderHealth’s Men As Partners (MAP) Manual. It has been adapted for use with groups of men and with mixed groups in such diverse settings as schools, youth clubs, military settings, and community groups all over the world, including in Botswana, Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Uganda.