Involving Men in Ending Violence against Women

Joyce Wu is a Research Fellow at the Australian National University, Australia

• List of Acronyms and AbbreviationsList of Figures, Tables, and MapsChapter 1. Introduction1.1 How I Got Involved1.2 What is "Violence against Women"? 1.3 How Violence against Women Became a Development Issue1.4 Feminist Contributions to Understanding and Responding to Men’s Violence against Women1.5 Men’s Role in Ending Violence against Women1.6 Men’s Responsibility to End Violence against Women — the Ethical Argument1.7 Men’s Interests in Ending Violence against Women — The Incentive Argument1.8 Rationale for the Focus on Conflict and Post-Conflict Contexts1.9 Business as Usual: Violence against women during conflict and post-conflict situations1.10 Book StructureChapter 2. The Alliance between Men and Anti-Violence against Women Initiatives, and Researching About It in Conflict Settings2.1 Strategies for Involving Men: Framing the recruitment message to increase men’s interests in violence against women programs2.2 Going Native: Using local cultural or religious frameworks to encourage men’s participation in violence against women programs2.3 Framing men’s anti-violence against women initiatives within conflict and post-conflict situations2.4 Fieldwork Preparation2.5 Fieldwork Locations and Security Matters2.5 Partnering with Host Organisations and Minimising Security Risks2.6 The Rationale for Qualitative Research Method and Feminist Perspective Analysis2.7 Critical Self-Reflection as a Researcher and Outsider2.8 Interviewing Experiences2.9 ConclusionChapter 3. From Cockfighting to Martial Arts: The Timor Leste Story3.1 Violence against Women in Timor Leste: The forms and extent of the situation3.2 Causes and Contributing Factors towards Violence against Women in Timor Leste since 20003.2.1 Cultural Beliefs and Practices3.2.2 The Role of the Catholic Church in Women’s Status and Gender Relations3.3 Stakeholders and Organisations Working on Anti-Violence against Women in Timor Leste3.4 Activities and Organisations that Work with Men and Boys in Violence against Women Initiatives3.5 Reality Check: A researcher caught in the troubled waters of aid politics and own expectations *3.6 Re-thinking the Research Focus3.7 Tension between Partners and Stakeholders and Aid Politics3.8 Impact of the Catholic Church upon Gender Programs3.9 Cultural Norms and Practices which Discriminate against Women — Observation from Oecussi3.10 Violence and Culture: Case studies of martial art school and manu futu3.11 Case Studies of Individual Men’s Activism on Gender Equality3.12 ConclusionChapter 4. "Please tell the world about us": Fieldwork findings from Pakistan4.1 Violence against Women in Pakistan: Extent and current legislation4.2 Causes and Contributing Factors towards Violence against Women in Pakistan: Cultural beliefs and practices4.3 Stakeholders and Organisations Working on Violence against Women in Pakistan4.4 Dilemmas for NGOs "doing gender" in Pakistan and the Contradiction of Identity Politics and Values4.4.1 Weak Response from Law Enforcement4.4.2 Parallel Legal Systems and Their Impact upon Women4.4.3 Hostility Towards Gender Equality and Women’s Rights4.4.4. Balancing Between Women’s Issues and Involving Men4.5 Resistor of Male Dominance or Gender-Sensitive Patriarchy?: A case study from the Humqadam Project4.6 Case Study from Oxfam Great Britain’s We Can Campaign4.6.1 Funding and Ownership of We Can4.6.2 The Premise of We Can4.6.3 From Smoking Addiction to Violence against Women: The transtheoretical model, its applications, and its limitations4.6.4 Recruitment Strategies Used by ‘We Can’ Partner Organisations4.6.5 The Gender Dimension of Change Makers’ Activism4.6.6 We Can Campaign’s Challenges and Issues4.6.7 Social Divisions amongst Change Makers4.6.8 Inequality among the Change Makers4.6.9 Oxfam Great Britain’s Evaluation of We Can Campaign in Pakistan4.8 ConclusionChapter 5. A "Good and Suitable" Muslim Man: Fieldwork in Afghanistan5.1 Global Debates about the Women in Afghanistan5.2 Violence against Women: The context in Afghanistan5.3 The Challenges for Afghan NGOs and Activists Working on Violence against Women5.4 Power Politics of the Aid Partnership5.5 "How to do Gender" in Afghanistan5.6 "Happy Family and Healthy Community" Project5.7 Potential Impact on Feminist Space and Gender Norms5.8 "Afghanistan is not ready for men to work on gender": A case study of an Afghan man’s role as gender program manager5.10 ConclusionChapter 6. Conclusion: Not a Man’s WorkBibliographyAnnex 1. Research MethodologyData CollectionInterview QuestionsAnalysis of the Data

'Involving Men in Ending Violence Against Women is a welcome critical reflection on the reasons for involving men and boys in development programming to end violence against women, and to advance gender equality more broadly. Looking beyond the theory, Joyce Wu sets out to examine the realities of men’s roles in practice, the challenges and the imperfect outcomes, and ‘the assumptions in the aid context about appropriate roles for men in combatting violence against women’. In doing so she highlights the extent to which emphasis put on involving men and boys is depoliticising the women’s empowerment agenda in multiple ways. She also articulates how the trend hugely underestimates, and therefore undermines, the work of women’s organisations in the field of VAW who have been involving men for years in ways that are strategic, long term, and embedded in societies.'—Kate Bishop (Principal Consultant – Gender Based Violence, Social Development Direct), Gender & Development