Conclusions

Abstract

Gender-based violence is a persistent problem at the global level and one of the major barriers to the realization of the human rights of many people. In order to tackle gender-based violence, it is imperative that this phenomenon is understood as a question of gender—that is, of normative constructions of masculinities and femininities and of relations between men and women and not just a problem relating to women and girls. In order to do this, as the contributions to this volume have demonstrated, it is necessary to go beyond the simplistic understandings of these types of violence with men as “perpetrators” and women as “victims,” and to understand the specific social constructions, norms, and structures, which contribute to the persistence of forms of violence in different locations across time. And to transform these understandings of how constructions of gender contribute to gender-based violence into concrete policies and actions to reduce and eventually eliminate this violence, it is necessary to define a program of action, which will engage both women and men as partners to construct new norms of masculine and feminine roles and behaviors and more egalitarian relations between the sexes. Moving the focus away from women solely and actively encouraging men’s participation in programs to eliminate gender-based violence would have the benefits of enabling them to create new positive models of masculinity and new role models for young men of future generations.

Real and lasting change to end violence against women and girls needs to be grounded at the community level, where acts of abuse occur and where women should be able to demand their rights to justice, protection and support. Involving men and boys in actions to prevent and respond to violence against women is critical in finding a meaningful solution.

—UNIFEM