Men and Reproductive Health Programs: Influencing Gender Norms Prepared by

Talking Man-To-Man

(Brazil)

Overview

The Noos Institute for Systematic Research and Development of Social Networks is a Brazilian nongovernmental organization (a recognized “federal public utility”). It works with several organizations to collaborate with the Justice Department to provide an alternative to the typically lax punishments imposed on male perpetrators of gender-based and domestic violence. The official name of the Talking Man-to-Man (TMM) project is “Project for the Application of Alternative Measures and Punishments for Men Who are Perpetrators of Committing Domestic and Gender Violence.” It is an extension of the Noos Institute’s work on gender-based violence, which began in 1999; the project was carried out between June 2000 and April 2002.

Scope

Facilitators were recruited from the Brazilian cities of: São Gonçalo, Duque de Caxias, and Rio de Janeiro. Sixty-seven men participated in the intervention.

Objectives

1. 
   To create an enabling environment for men to build support networks to curtail predatory behaviors in order to end the violence cycle.
   
2. 
   To promote the prevention of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, through “ownership” of responsibility and exploration of nonviolent means of conflict resolution.
   

Audience

The Justice Department initially referred young men who were in the justice system because of violent behavior. Recently, in addition to these referrals, men from the general population also participate as self-referrals. The 67 men who participated in the project ranged in age from 19 to 56; the majority were aged 32 to 45. Thirty-four percent of the men had completed at least the equivalent of junior high school, 40.3 percent earned an annual income of US$80 to $240. Only 16.5 percent of the participants resided with the victim of their violent act at the time of the interview.

Implementation

Reflective group methods, developed by the Noos Institute as a result of its work with men in diverse settings, were used to emphasize male perpetrators’ responsibility for domestic and gender-based violence.
The program has five stages: 1) the purpose of the intervention is clearly outlined to candidates in a reception group; 2) preliminary interviews and referrals are provided to other public services; 3) 20 weekly theme-centered meetings take place over a five-month period, providing a safe place for men to reassess their attitudes toward gender-based violence in small groups; 4) focus groups are conducted by persons who have not served as facilitators in order to assess the effect of the reflective meetings on the participants; and 5) lessons learned from the reflective groups are identified in follow-up meetings one year after the meetings end.

Evaluation and Outcomes

The impact of the program was assessed through focus groups following the reflexive groups. Discussions with former participants indicated that the men became more communicative in their interpersonal relationships, described greater levels of satisfaction in intimate relationships, questioned the definition of the current construction of masculinity, perceived the link between the violence they perpetrated and the violence perpetrated against them as children, and realized that hegemonic models of masculinity adversely affected them as well as their victims.
Evaluation data indicate that the program had a noticeable effect on the men’s behavior. Of the men who completed a program at the Noos Institute, only 5 percent became repeat offenders. This statistic will be meaningful once a corresponding percentage for a control group is obtained.

Funding Sources

Ministry of Justice and National Center for Alternative Punishments and Measures.

Contact Information

Instituto Noos

Rua Martins Ferreira

28-Botafogo

Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 22271-010

Brazil

Tel: 55 21 2579-2357

E-mail: noos@noos.org.br

www.noos.org.br

Sources

Bronz, Alan. 2003. ‘Talking Man-to-Man’ reflexive group methodology with an approach that emphasizes responsibility for male perpetrators of domestic and gender based violence (oral and PowerPoint presentation). Presented to the Reaching Men to Improve Reproductive Health for All Conference, Dulles, Virginia.
“Instituto Noos” home page, available at the following Web address: www.noos.org.br/projetos/projeto-gen-penasalternativas.html. Accessed October 27, 2003.

Program H

(Latin America and Caribbean)

Overview

Program H (H is the first letter of hombre, the word for man in Spanish, and homem in Portuguese) is a field-tested intervention involving three components. The project is an international partnership among ECOS (Estudos e Comunicaçao em Sexualidade e Reproducao Humana)–Communication in Sexuality, Programa PAPAI, and John Snow Brasil in Brazil; Salud y Género in Mexico; the Population Council and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) in United States; and the Pan American and World Health Organizations, the United Nations Population Fund, and SSL International plc.

Scope

The project is active in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru.

Objectives

To promote reproductive health and gender equity among young men.

Audience

Young men 15–24 years of age residing in low-income, high-crime areas in the six countries, recruited by local partnering organizations.

Implementation

Field-testing integrated three programs developed by Instituto PROMUNDO in partnership with Programa PAPAI, ECOS and Salud y Genero: Project Hora H—Life-Style Social Marketing Project and the Project H—Manual series “Working with Young Men.” Male-only group workshops were structured to promote attitude change. Participants actively engage in analyzing the health costs and other harmful characteristics of traditional masculinity; constructing an alternative masculinity; and rehearsing the newly defined, positive male attitudes through the use of educational materials. The materials are designed for health professionals and include five manuals and an animated silent video, titled Once Upon a Boy. The manuals and the video depict various aspects of a young man’s life, such as machismo, violence, homophobia, loss of virginity, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, and fatherhood.
Second, lifestyle social marketing was implemented with the aim of creating an environment in which more gender-equitable young men are identifiable within the community and condom use is associated with a more gender-equitable lifestyle. Peer promoters reinforced the messages of the marketing campaign by endorsing respectful treatment of women. The inexpensive Hora H (“In the Heat of the Moment”) condom was made available for sale throughout low-income communities at strategic locations. The branding of this product will help to sustain both the message of the marketing campaign and the campaign itself through income generation.
The Gender Equity Promotion Evaluation Project, the third component involved in the field-tested intervention, is using both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate the field test’s effectiveness. The evaluation began in May 2002 and will last for two years.