BELLAGIO STATEMENT ON WORKING WITH MEN TO END GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

A diverse group of men and women from different regions of the world, who are in the forefront of work with men in ending gender based violence, met at the Rockefeller Bellagio Centre, Italy for the Conference,

"Working with Men to End Gender Violence: An Interchange for Global Action" October 8-12, 2001.

The group's included independent participants as well as ones from a number of NGO's and UN organizations (see list attached). The Conference was co-organized by: Ruth Hayward (UNICEF), James Lang (INSTRAW), Geoff Prewitt (UNDP) and Michael Kaufman (White Ribbon Campaign).

• Document cases of innovative initiatives focused on working with men to end gender-based violence, their successful and/or replicable characteristics, the main obstacles that were overcome and their relevance for policy development.
• Initiate sharing, learning and partnership-building among the participant practitioners, some of whom may be working in relative isolation, and encourage continued innovation and research in this field through multi-stakeholder dialogue.
• Strengthen and help facilitate a global knowledge network among participants, their partner groups and existing networks.
• Devise recommendations for follow-up actions, policy development and programming in all regions for possible support by various United Nations agencies, government and private sources. The prescriptions will focus on the effectiveness of men's as well as women's work against gender-based violence.

This 2001 Bellagio group on working with men against gender violence states:

1. Men's violence, in all its forms, remains one of the greatest threats to the well-being of humankind.

2. Gender relations and men's use of power and privilege are central to the pervasiveness of violence against women and girls.

3. Gender violence cuts across and is compounded by other forms of violence.

4. As part of male violence, violence against women and girls strikes at the very heart of the well-being of individuals, the family, the community and society at large.

5. Teaching or training boys to expect or insist on entitlements in gender hierarchies is a form of gender violence against their own human rights, as well as leading to abuses of rights of girls.

6. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms should inform our strategies in eliminating violence against women and girls.

7. The empowerment of women and girls is a key component of the struggle against violence towards them, and challenges men individually and collectively to change. It is also a challenge for patriarchal institutions to be changed.

8. Men need to be held accountable for the violence that they commit, including violence against women and girls. Men's accountability and responsibility are necessary for justice as well as healing of individuals and society to occur.

9. Legislative change and effective implementation of laws, in all levels and areas of the law, are needed to protect women from male violence, including in the family.

10. Training at all levels of the criminal justice system, and all other areas of the law, are needed to accompany and support the transformations concerned.

11. Partnerships between men and women are key strategies that must be pursued. Developing strategies and creating spaces for them to trust each other and work together to eliminate violence against women are critical components towards those ends.

12. It is in men's interests to eliminate gender-based violence, which affects them in a number of ways: as witnesses, as direct victims, as those using violence, and in socialization according to definitions of masculinities that define aggression and violence as part of the norm for boys and men.

13. Men and boys are negatively affected in many ways by cultural demands to be powerful and in control. Many want to live in equality with women, in fact.

14. Not all men are violent; however, most men have remained silent about violence against women.

15. This politic of complicity and silence has to change. Encouragement, recognition and reinforcement are needed of men and boys who are positive change agents working for gender equality.

16. There has been much learned in recent years in regard to working effectively with men. This knowledge and social technology needs to be exchanged and shared.

17. As part of men overcoming violence, it is important to focus on positive models of what men can do and be as healthy humans opposing violence. It is important to shift to the use of language and frameworks for positive action addressing male strengths, rather than an emphasis on guilt and shame.

18. While men and boys need to become aware of the negative impact on women and girls of gender violence, they should also learn about the gains for them from ending gender violence --for men's health, feelings, relationships in families and with co-workers, and for their holistic well-being.

19. Initiatives targeting the engagement of men to overcome violence against women need to be adequately supported with human and financial resources, but without reducing resources from women's programmes. In addition, more information and research on men and gender based violence are needed to lead to identification of cost effective practices and frameworks to build effective partnerships with men and between women and men to eliminate gender violence.

20. There is a need to create spaces for men to talk, examine and organize against violence against women and all forms of gender violence; and to discuss other gender issues. There is a need to clarify men's issues of power and powerlessness, and men's expectations and sense of entitlement to power, including power over women, and the use of violence to maintain that power.

21. There is a vital role to develop, promote and model for men alternative forms of masculinity not using violence against women and which are more gender equitable.

22. Key elements in the task of overcoming violence against women are the need for partnerships, networking at all levels, and coalition building, including men's groups.

23. There is a clear need to further engage international organizations in developing and promoting broad based strategies to engage men in overcoming gender based violence, and to form broader partnerships, adding men's groups to their civil society partnerships.

24. Of central importance is the issue of making institutional changes so that violence against women is not possible or acceptable.

25. Emphasis on prevention, not only remedy, is crucial. The cooperation of the state, civil society, media and the private sector is necessary for prevention of gender violence. Assertion of political will and action are needed at all levels in support of gender equality and against gender violence. National policy frameworks should be developed, disseminated and lead to interventions that address and support men's engagement to overcome gender based violence, particularly against women.

26. The group underlines the importance of taking a life cycle approach to ending gender based violence. Particular attention must be given to creating wholesome early childhood experiences, free from experiencing or witnessing violence against women and girls, for these pose risks for a propensity later for adult men and women to inflict or suffer from gender based violence.

27. It is critical to support and develop mechanisms to break the intergenerational transmission of violence by men, particularly violence against women and girls.

28. In this regard, opportunities need to be created for young people to have a voice regarding stopping male violence, with a particular focus on the violence against women and girls, as well as its interrelationship with other forms of violence.

29. Parent education, including for boys and men, about the negative impact of gender violence on infant and child development, including the structure and function of the brain, will be important to change gender role and relationship stereotypes and practices in the family.

30. Battering in pregnancy should be prevented, for the sake of the mother, the child and the family. Health workers need to address this problem in a more intense manner, addressing male professionals and partners alike. Examples of related programmes successful against battering in pregnancy should be identified and featured widely, to promote more effective prevention of this serious but largely unrecognized problem.

31. Educational institutions at all levels and of all types, both formal and informal, have a key role in overcoming and preventing violence against women and girls. Curriculum, resources and activities need to be developed and implemented to work towards breaking the trans- generational transmission of violence against women. Girls and young women in educational settings need to be empowered not to tolerate violence against women. Boys, young men, male teachers and administrators need to be educated to treat women and girls with respect, not to use violence to solve problems, or to tolerate violent behaviours among their peers.

32. Safe schools that feature gender equality and no tolerance for gender violence are of particular importance. They, and the critical factors for their development, should be identified and made widely known as examples of what can and should be achieved. Teacher, parent and student involvement are all obvious pre-requisites for identifying and sustaining successful approaches for achieving safe schools.

33. Community education campaigns and mass media are key tools in bringing about changes in community attitudes and behaviour, particularly by men. Education initiatives targeting men should be designed to engage men, and enlist them, as well as women, as partners in overcoming violence against women and girls.

34. More active use of effective media partnerships, promulgating non-stereotypic gender roles and relationships, without featuring violence, is crucial.

35. Congruence with principles and articles of human rights instruments, particularly CRC and CEDAW, should be underlined consistently in relevant forums and their coverage.

36. Again, male role models from all ages, social groups, professions and institutions in each society are of key importance in overcoming and preventing violence against women.

37. In general, more work is needed to show the linkages between eliminating gender based violence and reaching other development goals so that policy makers and practitioners alike will see that ending violence against women is not a side issue but a pre-requisite for development.

38. Of particular note is the fact that data on gender-based violence in situations of armed conflict show that women and children are disproportionately affected. Peace education that features prevention of violence against women and girls is, therefore, an urgent concern to build a culture of peace with the participation of all parties.

39. The culture of peace should begin at home and be reflected and supported in all social and political institutions.

40. While it is recognized that interpretations of different religions, traditions and cultures are often used politically to attempt to justify various forms of violence against women and girls, a strategy of underlining the compatibility of specific core beliefs in religion with elimination of gender violence can be useful. It is also compatible with the fulfillment of human rights for all.

Taking into account all the above, along with human rights conventions and the recommendations from various international conferences dealing with women's and girls' well-being and human rights, The Bellagio "Core Group" on Working with Men to End Gender Violence is committed to:

a) making wider contacts to include additional individuals and organizations for networking and cooperation;

b) continuing exchange of information, activities, events, success stories among members on an on-going basis, with a summary at least twice a year;

c) use of a neutral website such as www.mapev.org, on at least a volunteer basis, as a site of exchange, with promotion of expanded network sharing;

d) inviting contributions from the various organisations to support such a site to:

-- update the summary list of organisations working with men against violence already developed and published by UNICEF
-- invite volunteer advisors from various regions to keep updates flowing from the field to the host and vice-versa
-- post information on various events and wider involvement possibilities
-- consider holding virtual seminars twice a year, depending on human and financial resources available;

e) work towards publication of case studies in a volume based on the conference, under the leadership of the conference organizers;

f) contribute to development of proposals for media advocacy on new models of masculinities;

g) actively support initiatives for international conferences on patriarchy and masculinities;

h) actively support the 16 days of activism against VAW campaign

i) actively support white ribbon campaign initiatives;

h) develop a statement and modality for its delivery from the group in support of the CSW 2004 agenda item on men as partners against gender violence.

The Rockefeller Bellagio Conference "Working with Men to End Gender Violence: a Global Interchange" participants commit themselves as individuals to:

a) Make, carry out and monitor individual pledges for specifics of what each will do to end gender violence working with and through initiatives with men / boys, whether at theoretical or practical levels, whether for remedy or prevention;

b) Develop new ideas and partnerships for action based on the rich diversity of case studies shared at the conference, and contacts among the participants;

c) Indicate what they will need from others to put ideas for new partnerships and initiatives into concrete actions;

d) Indicate what they can do the facilitate opportunities for others in the group, and to be added to the group;

e) Strive to increase media partnerships and coverage of new models of masculinities and related initiatives, resources, and success stories;

f) Identify and share lessons-learned on a continuing basis;

g) Complete case studies as needed and co-operate in the editing process towards publication of a volume based on the conference, as was indicated by organizers beforehand;

h) Consider and create ways for more involvement of young people in ongoing and future action on working with men/boys to end gender violence and share lessons learned;

i) Give organizers and the group an update within 6 months, to be exchanged through www.mapev.org or as otherwise to be indicated by conference organizers;

j) Continue to work for gender peace in personal as well as professionals lives and to encourage other individuals to do so.

THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
Bellagio Study and Conference Center
"Working with Men to End Gender-based Violence: An Interchange for Global Action"
October 8-12, 2001

Mr. Gary Barker
Director
Instituto PROMUNDO

Ms.Roxanna Carrillo
Human Rights Advisor,
UNIFEM

Michael Kaufman
White Ribbon Campaign

Mr. Benno de Keijzer
SALUD Y GENERO A.C.

Mr. Andres Guerrero
Programme Officer Education
UNICEF, New York

Ms. Ruth Hayward
Persistent Dreamer and Change Maker

Mr. Gerhard Hafner
Mannsarde-gegen Mannergewalt
Berlin, Germany

Mr. Dale Hurst
Dale Hurst and Associates
Darwin, Australia

Ms. Jennifer Jadwero
Margaret Wanzuu Foundation.
Youth Representative
Nairobi, Kenya.

Ms. Jawairia Jilani
Consultant
UNICEF, Gender, GPP/PD

Ms. Noreen Khan
Project Officer
UNICEF, Gender, GPP/PD

Mr. James L. Lang
Research Coordinator
United Nations INSTRAW
Santo Domingo, Dom Rep.
Ms. Eva Moberg
Stockholm, SWEDEN

Mr. Sixtus Kennedy Otieno
Coordinator Men's Initiative Project
Margaret Wanzuu Foundation
Nairobi, Kenya

Ms. Helen Pankhurst
WOMANKIND Worldwide
Head, International Programmes
London, U.K.

Mr. Geoffrey D. Prewitt
Poverty Reduction and Civil Society Advisor, UNDP
Central & East Africa

Mr. Ruben Reyes
La Associacion de los Hombres contra la Violencia
Managua, NICARAGUA

Mr. Rahul Roy
AAKAR
Independent Documentary Film Maker
New Delhi, INDIA

Ms. Rima Salah
UNICEF
Regional Director for West and
Central Region
Abijan, IVORY COAST

Mr. Hayat Ali Shah
District and Session Judge
District Court Swat at Saidu Sharif
Swat, PAKISTAN

Mr. Shershah Syed
Convenor,
Pakistan National Forum on Women's Health
Pakistan Medical Association
Karachi, PAKISTAN