Report from Judy Lawrence, Chief Executive, Ministry of Women's Affairs

on the panel "The Role of Men and Boys in Ending Gender-based Violence"

This was one of three panels organised by the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender and the Division of the Advancement of Women, at the request of the Bureau of the Special Session on Beijing + 5. It was organised by the Commission on the Status of Women preparatory committee, with the UN inter-agency and UN men's group collaborating.

The panel was chaired by Dr Richard Jolly, Special Advisor/Administrator UNDP, who is well known for his work on UNDP indicators. In his introduction he stressed that ending gender-based violence was a prerequisite to obtaining equality, development and peace, and that Beijing + 5 recognised the importance of working with men as well as women for equality to end gender-based violence. He outlined the new concern with understanding 'masculinities' as part of a gender-based approach, saying that to end gender-based violence it is particularly important to change the unequal power relationships that follow from stereotypical and narrow gender roles for both men and women.

There was a need for greater understanding of gender roles and more involvement of men and boys, as well as women and girls, in questioning and broadening these roles. Men and boys needed to be encouraged to be partners against gender-based violence and not perpetrators of it.

The first speaker, Mr Philip Thigo, was a member of the youth caucus and the Kenya delegation to Beijing + 5. He spoke about the role of youth in ending gender violence. He saw gender-based violence as a collective issue for both men and women. Men are too accepting of the role of disempowering women, he said, and should be seeking new visions in an inclusive society through networking, best practice and lessons learnt. Philip Thigo was involved in work in Kenya with young men, heightening awareness of the stereotypical roles of boys and the effect of their violence on girls.

The second speaker was Mr Mufti Ziauddin (human rights lawyer) from Swat, Pakistan. He gave a first-hand account of growing up with the gender roles and relations that lie behind 'honour killings', and described how he went on to challenge them as a trial lawyer in his home community. He was well versed in using the legal system against this custom.

The third speaker was Mr Norman Tjombe, a legal consultant from Namibia. He spoke about a national and global movement featuring the role of men against gender violence. He outlined a new law in Namibia that has a gender-neutral definition of rape, covering force or intimidation in coercive circumstances. Tougher bail conditions had been introduced and sessions were being held 'in camera' to facilitate the process of dealing with gender-based violence. He had been involved in a campaign against marital rape, complementing the passage of this law.

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The next speaker was Dr Michael Kaufman, the International Director of the White Ribbon campaign. This was founded ten years ago by some Canadian men, and is now the largest effort in the world of men working to end gender violence. The White Ribbon campaign recognises the complex and contradictory factors leading to violence. These revolve around power and privilege and the permission given by society for violence to occur. He talked about the fear men have around inadequacy or lack of control, and how that leads to violence. In outlining how the campaign is spreading throughout the world, he spoke of power relations, the need to challenge patriarchy, and the narrow definition of masculinity that breeds gender-based violence.

Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UNIFEM, spoke about the Zero Tolerance of Violence International Campaign. She outlined some of the campaign's approaches and in particular the slogan of "No more, never again". The campaign was using the media to change culture. They were also working with a network of judges to use international conventions against violence; there was training underway with judges and lawyers to facilitate this. She commented on the tolerance that society has for violence in times of peace compared with the tolerance that it has during war. Dr Heyzer also talked about the power issues and gave details about the 'excuses' campaign and a 'respect' campaign. UNIFEM is working throughout the world to spread these basic messages. They are also working closely with police and mayors in major cities.

Judy Lawrence, Chief Executive, Ministry of Women's Affairs, finished the panel with a presentation on the costs of domestic violence. She outlined the way in which the cost information for both domestic violence and the delivery of services around domestic violence were powerful pieces of information in addressing the issues through a legislative response. It was interesting to note that the original study on the costs of domestic violence in New Zealand appears not to have been repeated anywhere else in the world. There was a great deal of interest in the methodology and in its being used more widely in other jurisdictions. Judy Lawrence's address is attached as Appendix 4 to this report.

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