“As young men we have a role to play in preventing sexual violence”: Development and relevance of the men with conscience intervention to prevent sexual violence

Abstract

Sexual violence against women and girls is a major public health problem globally and in South Africa. Although young men have been identified as an important risk group for prevention interventions, scant attention have been given to this age cohort in low and middle-income countries. There is strong evidence that perpetration starts early and increasing attention is being drawn to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as settings for prevention interventions. The main objective of this study was to adapt the One Man Can Intervention for use with male university students in residences and develop materials for implementation. This paper presents the qualitative findings of the adaptation process of the One Man Can Intervention with 15 young male student leaders at a HEI in South Africa. The same participants who started in the study, participated throughout. Only five of the 15 participants were located and participated in the interviews six months post intervention. The results show the emergence of a six-hour session adapted intervention that addresses key drivers of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Critical engagement and dialogue on sexual violence is shown to shift key norms on gender equality, on being a man and reflection on their role in preventing sexual violence. This paper contributes to the field where much learning, refining and improvement of prevention interventions for VAWG are ongoing.

Do Gender-Based Violence Interventions Consider the Impacts of Climate Change? A Systematic Review

“…Finally, the last type of intervention utilized was school-based programs to prevent dating violence ( N = 3). School-based programs included group learning sessions for adolescents in secondary school to learn how to develop healthy interpersonal relationships (Baiocchi et al, 2017; Decker et al, 2018; Edwards et al, 2022) and group sessions in universities to help young adult men unlearn unhealthy attitudes toward violence, masculinity, and relationships (de Villers et al, 2021). For example, IMPower is a 6-week program designed to provide life skills training to primary and secondary school girls.…”

“…Some studies have found that girls are forced to marry at a young age in exchange for food or livestock when droughts or floods destroy crops (Cwienk, 2020;Pope et al, 2022;UNFPA, 2021b). Transactional sex exchange (jaboya) is a recognized issue in coastal Kenyan regions where women are forced to engage in sex to gain access to fish; declining fish populations have exacerbated this issue (Davis & Silver, 2019).…”

Gender Equality Training for Students in Higher Education: A Scoping Review (Preprint)

“…Program designers may also wish to consider evaluation at both participant and institutional level. Care should be taken to ensure that the course's status as elective or required is considered for evaluation purposes (Darby, 2006). Significant research is required to bring gender mainstreaming to higher education.…”