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� Longer term programmes are needed to change ingrained gender norms;
� Be realistic about what can be achieved within a short period of time;
� Obtaining long-term financial support may be difficult to achieve given that
funding for programmes with men have tended to support shorter-term initiatives;
and
� It may be necessary to educate donors about the need for long-term financial
support and about the limits of short-term interventions.
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Ensure programmes are designed to deal with barriers that men may face when
addressing gender-based violence. (From Funk, R. 2006, p.85)
These barriers can include:
� Lack of role models;
� Not knowing what to do;
� Not wanting to look foolish;
� Appearing too feminine;
� Appearing too sensitive;
� Not fitting in with the men they know;
� Feeling hesitant to challenge others about behaviour that they themselves may
have done just last week or last night;
� Guilt;
� Fear of the intensity of issues, giving up male privilege, facing men‟s anger,
being a traitor, and being labelled gay; and
� Anger about the issues, at themselves, and at other men.
A man who is changing his life and becoming more gender equitable may be seen as a
threat to other men who may ridicule or harass him (de Keijzer 2004; Berkowitz 2004).
Be careful not to generate other inequalities or further entrench gender
stereotypes
All programmes working with men and boys, even those addressing other issues, such
as HIV and AIDS, should consider whether their approaches, messages and/or imagery
unintentionally reinforce unhelpful traditional stereotypes about men and women that
contribute to violence against women and girls.
Programmes that involve transformation in gender roles and social norms should also
be conscientious about unintentionally generating other gender discriminatory attitudes
(such as men feeling that they need to „protect‟ women by limiting their mobility,
freedom or privacy) or anti-equality perspectives such as homophobia that sometimes
arise. The sexual orientation of men who speak out against sexism is often questioned,
as a conscious or unconscious strategy intended to silence them, resulting in few men
who do speak out (Jackson Katz).
Men and Boys Knowledge Module January 2012 34