South Africa’s Sonke Gender Justice Network

In its effort to organise men to prevent gender violence Sonke’s work has grown rapidly and is recognised both nationally and internationally. Its largest project, the One Man Can Campaign, an education and outreach programme with men to challenge harmful gender norms and educate men for health, has been featured as an example of best practice by several United Nations (UN) organisations, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNAIDS and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). Its work has been translated into nearly a dozen languages and implemented in many African countries. Sonke currently serves as co-chair of the global MenEngage Alliance, an international network of men’s gender change programmes, and also coordinates the Alliance’s work with 15 country networks in West, Central, East and southern Africa. This Profile offers an overview of the organisation and describes Sonke’s rationale, its analysis of men’s violence, its theories and models of change, its current programme and the challenges it faces in achieving a world where women and men can be free to experience lives free from violence and other forms of oppression.