INSTRAW Programme 
on Men's Roles and Responsibilities 
in Ending Gender-based Violence

The United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) is the only institution in the United Nations system solely devoted to research and training for the advancement of women. Recently, INSTRAW restructed to become the only dedicated UN institution to deliver its mandate through new information and communication technologies (ICTs). 

http://www.un-instraw-gains.org/  
Calle César
Nicolás Penson
102-A. Santo
Domingo,
Dominican Republic 
Tel: (809) 685-2111  Fax: (809) 685-2117 

Research Coordinator
United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)

INSTRAW and UNICEF are also planning a panel exploring the linkages among Racism, Masculinity and Gender-based Violence to be held during the Commission on the Status of Women on March 9th in New York. for more information concerning these activities please write to:    
James Lang (Research Coordinator) jlang@un-instraw-gains.org 
afrohberg@un-instraw-gains.org 

New programme "Men's Roles and Responsibilities in Ending Gender Based Violence."
This project will examine, through a variety of forums, the issues facing men and women regarding gender-based violence. By surveying and synthesizing the theories, issues, practices and experiences of practitioners, experts, policy-makers and academics working in this area, this programme will enable us to make policy recommendations and create training materials for individuals and organizations working to end gender-based violence.

The first major event will be a panel discussion at the Commission on the Status of Women entitled "Racism, Class and Masculinity: the Global Dimensions of Gender-based Violence." This will be followed up with a bulletin board discussion, a virtual seminar series, papers, and more through the GAINS website: www.un-instraw.org, as well as at : www.un-instraw.org/mens-roles.html. For further information on the CSW panel discussion, please see the attached document.

Instraw_flyer
Racism, Class and Masculinity: The Global Dimensions of Gender-Based Violence
CSW 2001 Panel - Sponsored by INSTRAW & UNICEF Friday, 9 March 2001

INSTRAW Programme on Men's Roles and Responsibilities in Ending Gender-based Violence

Background

Gender-based violence plagues every society in every region of the world. No one group, no matter their culture, class, religion or location, is immune to the devastation of this violence. Gender-based violence destroys the fundamental human rights of adults and children alike - it is a major contributor to human poverty worldwide and restricts the global achievement of peace, freedom, and prosperity.

In fact, when the total costs are tallied, gender-based violence presents itself as an almost insurmountable hurdle to reaching the development goals committed to by the United Nations system and its Member states. Even when put simply in economic terms, the costs of this violence are astounding. For example, a study conducted by the Government of New Zealand revealed that the national costs of gender-based violence (including health care, protection, legal and incarceration costs, and loss of work and productivity, etc) add up to more than the income earned from wool, the nation's primary export.

As a response, many initiatives, programmes and policies have been put in place over the past decades to end violence and empower women - including a broad set of UN conventions, national policies and community based interventions. In this context INSTRAW is undertaking this programme with a focus on the roles and responsibilities of men in ending violence as a complement to the widespread efforts to empower women and achieve peace. With the emergence of varied and at times endogenous initiatives and policies to do with men's as well as women's responsibility to re-examine gender roles and relations and to end gender-based violence, there is an excellent opportunity now to assess what is happening around the world, and strengthen the results.

With our goal of the advancement of women -- why focus on men?

In a more abstract sense, gender-based violence is violence that attempts to establish or enforce gender hierarchies and perpetuate gender inequalities. But the bottom line is that gender-based violence is predominately men's violence towards women and children. We want to be explicit about the role of men - men as perpetrators of violence and  men as potential change agents. By discussing men's violence, we will to look at the possible reasons behind it, how these reasons may vary across different contexts, and how men's violence towards women may be connected to other systems of violence and power.

By focusing on men's responsibilities we hope to generate new knowledge on the potential of men as partners in ending violence and in working towards gender equality. For it is clear - without engaging men as partners, without enabling both men and women understand their roles and responsibilities in ending violence - we will be attempting to resolve this multi-dimensional problem from a vastly limited perspective. We acknowledge that the term "men" does not describe a monolithic group that is solely to blame for violence. Nor is it men's nature (the natural aggression of men) or men's nurture (their culture or socialization) that are alone sufficient explanations for violence.

Though this programme, we look forward to learning from rich discussions that place men's violence into different cultural and historical contexts and examine it vis a vis different concepts of masculinity and other discourses of power. INSTRAW will use the GAINS methodology to conduct on-line collaborative research on the causes of gender- based violence and the potentiantial of working with men - with the overall goal to develop strategies for its elimination.

The programme objectives are to:

1.Conceptualize - outline the various theoretical approaches to socialization, masculinity and gender based-violence and the subsequent implications for policy and programming. 

2.Collect - cases of innovative initiatives focused on ending gender-based violence, their successful and/or replicable characteristics, the main obstacles that were overcome, and their relevance for policy development. 

3.Connect - Initiate sharing, learning and partnership building among the stakeholders and GAINS networks, and to encourage continued innovation and research on men's as well as women's roles in ending gender-based violence. 

4.Empower - Develop electronic training packages to sensitise men and women practitioners to the gender dimensions to their work, gender analysis and the importance of ending gender-based-violence to achieve  human rights and development goals.

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INSTRAW- The Global Dimensions of Gender-Based Violence

Internship:
Terms of Reference
Special Programme Internship

Duration:               3 to 6 months,
Time:                   1 June start date
Location:               INSTRAW, Santo Domingo

Background
INSTRAW has identified "Building Partnerships among Men and Women for Gender Equality" and the "Impact of Economic Globalization on Women" as umbrella strategic areas for its collaborative research programmes for 2001-2002.  Activities under these areas will be undertaken through the Gender Awareness Information and Networking System (GAINS). 

In March 2001, INSTRAW is launched the "Men's Roles and Responsibilities in Ending Gender-based Violence" programme at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, please see http://www.un-instraw.org/mens-roles.html The activities organized under the Impact of Economic Globalization are being planned for the second half of 2001.   As part of the GAINS research methodology, "virtual communities" of researchers and practioners will be engaged and nurtured to share their experiences, ideas and research findings, as well as lessons learned and good practices.

As first steps in building a community around men and violence, an on-line seminar and working paper series dealing with men and ending gender-based violence will be scheduled over the course of 2001. These activities aim to initiate discussion amoung community members on a specific programme sub-topic and encourage interaction with chosen experts in the field.

         Several areas of activities under the two strategic areas require technical backstopping beyond the human resource capacities of INSTRAW. The intern will assist the INSTRAW Research Coordinator in the following areas:
1.      Assist with the organisation and moderation of the GAINS research networks and undertake on-going correspondence with network members.

2.      Assist with the organisation and co-ordination of the virtual seminar series and working paper series on men's roles and ending gender-based violence. 

3.      Assist with the moderation of the on-line discussion forums of INSTRAW and the INSTRAW/World Bank partnership

4.      Assist with the implementation of the projects on "Gender Audit of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers" and "Gender, Macroeconomics and Trade "

5.      Undertake other related ad hoc tasks as required in support of the programme.

Qualifications:
Some graduate level education and familiarity with Gender, Development and Economics 
Gender Sensitivity
Excellent written and spoken English required, Spanish skills also preferred

Compensation: US$1000 per month