Engaging Men and Boys in Refugee Settings to Address Sexual and Gender Based Violence

A four-day regional workshop was facilitated by Sonke Gender Justice Network (Sonke) and the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children (Women’s Commission), in cooperation with UNHCR, to increase and encourage the involvement of men and boys in the work against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

The participants consisted of multifunctional teams from nine different countries in the Great Lakes region, Eastern Africa and Southern Africa (Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Rwanda), a professor from St Cloud’s University and the founder of MAGE in Sierra Leone.

The workshop had three main objectives:

1. Awareness raising for UNHCR staff, people of concern and NGO partners on addressing masculinities.
2. Skills building for UNHCR staff, people of concern and NGO partners on how to integrate masculinities into programs to address SGBV and promote gender equality.
3. Development of a critical mass of trainers to undertake training on masculinities throughout the region.