Self-Learning Booklet: Understanding Masculinities and Violence Against Women and Girls

“In all societies there are many ideas about masculinity and femininity that are harmful, not just to girls and women, but also to boys and men, as well as people of other gender identities”.

This booklet was developed by the United Nations (UN) Women Training Centre as a result of a series of training courses that aimed to strengthen the capacities of development practitioners and advocates to understand, integrate, and address critical gender issues in their work and lives. Specifically, it was developed to assist both UN and non-UN staff to better understand the issues of masculinities in relation to violence against women and girls.  As a basic introduction to issues of masculinities, the booklet can be used by a broad audience including practitioners and advocates working in development and humanitarian agencies and settings, whether they have a particular expertise in or responsibility for work on violence against girls and women, and gender equality, or not.

As stated in the booklet, “Masculinities, in common with other gender issues, affect everyone’s lives and work. Wherever you work, and whatever you do, you will be facing issues of masculinities on a daily basis.”  It therefore seeks to equip development practitioners with the information they need to better recognise and understand such issues. It provides a basic introduction to core concepts of masculinities and to the key issues they raise in relation to addressing the links between gender, power, and violence against girls and women. In defining the concepts and discussing these issues, this self-study tool seeks to outline the ideas and practices that are central to understanding masculinities in the context of preventing and responding to such violence.

The booklet contains the following four chapters:

• Chapter 1: Masculinity Matters - this chapter lays the foundations for using a masculinities approach to address violence against women and girls and other forms of gender-based violence.
• Chapter 2: Learning to be Men - this chapter examines processes of male socialisation in relation to norms and practices of patriarchal masculinities.
• Chapter 3: Masculinities and Violence against Women and Girls - this chapter looks at how violence against women and girls is rooted in patriarchal masculinities.
• Chapter 4: From Patriarchal Masculinities to Transformative Masculinities - this chapter look more closely at how to challenge patriarchal masculinities and promote transformative masculinities, both as individuals in our own lives and as staff working with organisations on social development, human rights and social justice.

Each chapter includes the following sections:
• Learning objectives
• Key issues
• Taking stock
• Further resources

Written in straightforward language for those who are approaching this topic for the first time, the booklet also provides a wide variety of examples on the harmful ideas of masculinities and femininity, as well as practice quizzes aimed at increasing knowledge and causing reflection.