Prevention+ Program: engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women – coming together to find common ground, create impact and show solidarity （預防與計畫：鼓勵男性參與預防針對女性的暴力—找出共同點、產生影響並展現團結）

Finding innovative and sustainable ways to prevent all types of violence against women is imperative. One way to do this is by actively engaging with young and adult men as part of the solution. There is a need to fundamentally transform underlying root causes, deeply entrenched power inequalities, harmful gender norms and values. To do so, boys and men are to be engaged, to change behaviours and collective norms which legitimize and encourage violence. A so called gender transformative approach (GTA) is needed, together with girls and women.

Prevention+; Men and Women ending Gender Based Violence, a multi-country violence prevention program (2016-2020), does exactly this. Partnering with Rutgers, Promundo, Sonke Gender Justice, and Menengage, this program is implemented in Indonesia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Lebanon. It addresses the root causes of violence by, as one of the strategies, making boys and men part of the solution. The Prevention+ approach intervenes at four levels of society: individual/relational, community, institutional, and policies to provoke sustainable change. In each country Prevention+ is adapted to the specific social, economic, religious and cultural context that shapes the attitudes and behaviours that lead to violence.

The first part of this workshop will be showcasing the work and outcomes, illustrated with examples from the various counties. From working with correctional institutes in Indonesian and women’s organisations offering couple counselling, to close cooperation with district governments in Uganda, successful campaigning with religious leaders in Lebanon, and parent-clubs in Rwanda.

After this, the focus will be on the broader topic of working with men and boys. Seeing that the theme of this conference is “impact and solidarity”, this workshop aims to open up the floor for a constructive conversation around violence prevention programs and solidarity. It will encourage meaningful exchanges on the topics of accountability to women’s movements and women’s shelters. Solidarity and accountability towards the women’s movements are one of the key principles of the Prevention+ Program. It entails constant dialogue, listening, collaboration, and strengthening partnerships with women’s rights activists and feminist groups. This conference offers a great platform for further dialogue and debate, identifying strengths, challenges, complementarities and opportunities in order to more effectively prevent all forms of gender based violence.

It will be an interactive workshop to acquire expertise and exchange of opinions from the audience. There is an immense experience of women’s shelters around the world. This workshop offers an opportunity to bring the various voices together and to learn from each other.

Besides learning from each other, this workshop aims to, together with the all participants, find ways for joint action in concrete and technical ways to strengthening prevention of violence against women. Questions that will be raised are what the role of shelters is in overall prevention (e.g. capacity to have prevention programs with men and boys)? What are the worries and how can these worries be solved? Lastly, what about safety and up-scaling of the interventions?