Men and Reproductive Health Programs: Influencing Gender Norms Prepared by
|
|  Yüklə 430 Kb.
|
CANTERA(Central America) OverviewIn English the name of this organization is synonymous with “quarry,” meaning a rich or productive source. The work of CANTERA, which stands for Population Education and Communication Center, has indeed been a rich resource for the people it has served. This organization began its work on masculinity and gender with men in 1994. Since 1989 the organization has been a leader in popular education. It fuses gender relations and women’s personal experiences in its societal analyses. Nicaragua, where CANTERA is based, is a predominantly Catholic and male-dominated society. ScopeTwo-hundred fifty men in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. ObjectivesThrough its workshops, CANTERA seeks to facilitate internal transformative processes by examining social attitudes, values, behaviors, and the social construction of masculinity using men’s own life stories as a starting point rather than theoretical frameworks. Ultimately, through introspection and the recognition of the contradictions and injustices related to gender roles, the program encourages men to generate their own proposals for specific change and to take responsibility for making these changes. AudienceAdult men. ImplementationOver the span of a year participants attend four 3½-day workshops centered on the following themes in the order presented: 1) male identities; 2) gender, power, and violence; 3) unlearning machismo; and 4) forging just relationships. During the first workshop the men engage in exercises to help them question their own discriminatory practices, reflect on the social construction of male identities, and consider the methods men employ to exercise power. The second workshop builds on the previous analysis of the roots of men’s violence, its effects on men and their families, and its relationship to the current socioeconomic situation in Nicaragua. Men then brainstorm ways to reduce violence in their families. In the third workshop, processes that would allow men to change are identified, strengthened, and outlined in the form of a methodology that can be employed to train other men. Men and women alike participate in the last workshop in order to share what they have learned and to deepen their individual analyses by taking into account the other’s perspectives. Promoting change in the familial and personal spheres is the highest priority. The religious nature of the society is integrated into the workshops; facilitators often quote or elicit passages from religious texts considered holy by Nicaraguans of Spanish descent and indigenous peoples. Feature films serve as entry points for discussions to deconstruct hegemonic definitions of masculinity (e.g., the film Once Were Warriors, a graphic depiction of the negative effects of violent masculinity on men and women; and Marta and Raymond, which inverts gender roles to enable men to witness the mechanisms used to subjugate, humiliate, and abuse women). Evaluation and OutcomesOne-hundred twelve of the original 250 men who participated in any of CANTERA’s workshops between September 1994 and September 1997 were surveyed. The men’s questionnaire consisted of 312 questions divided into seven sections. Program evaluators overcame the lack of baseline data by creating a “subjective approximation” and a “subjective appreciation” (i.e., a surmised quantification and estimated trend) of the men’s perceived internal changes. They accomplished this by separating the questions related to the men’s pre- and post-participation behaviors into sections. When compared with data that had been gathered from surveys of women who knew the male participants, both groups tended to agree that the men had changed in the following ways: they reflected less “macho” perceptions of masculinity, they participated more in domestic chores, their relationships in the workplace had improved, they had reduced their discriminatory practices, and they had demonstrated greater solidarity with women. There was a significant increase in the number of men actively seeking sexuality education, from 36 percent to 55 percent. The pool of respondents was not a representative sample of the general populations in their respective countries, which may explain their high levels of seeking health education. Like the other 138 participants, they were generally older, educated, and employed. This could be explained by the fact that most of the men who took part in the workshops were referred by their employers, usually nongovernmental organizations. In 1999, CANTERA developed and tested “El Significado de Ser Hombre” (What it Means to be a Man), a training manual for former participants to train others. Funding SourcesCANTERA receives the majority of its financial support from European and U.S. voluntary organizations, development agencies, and religious congregations. Some major financers include NOVIB and Van Leer Foundation in The Netherlands; Swedish International Development Agency; CAFOD, in England; Catholic Women, in Austria; OXFAM America; and Friends of CANTERA, in the United States. CANTERA also generates revenue by selling its publications and local goods. Contact InformationE-mail: cantera@nicarao.org.ni www.oneworld.org/cantera SourcesWelsh, Patrick. 2001. Men aren’t from Mars: Unlearning machismo in Nicaragua. London: Catholic Institute for International Relations. CANTERA Web page: www.oneworld.org/cantera. Accessed October 13, 2003. New Visions Program for Boys and Young Men(Egypt) OverviewThe New Visions Program for Boys and Young Men, located in Upper Egypt, is an informal educational program of basic life skills and reproductive health developed in recognition of boys’ distinct needs and rights, and men’s and boys’ influence on the enabling environment for girls’ rights. A one-year pilot phase of this project, which was sponsored by the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) took place in 2002. The program is currently in its implementation phase, which is projected to end in 2004. Beni Suef (the evaluation site) is a relatively poor region of Egypt. Many of its socioeconomic indicators were substantially lower than those for Egypt as a whole in 2001. For instance, the female literacy rate was 35 percent, versus the national average of 54 percent; and 51.2 percent of its residents are poor versus the national average of 20 percent. |