PROGRAM: Overcoming Violence: Exploring Masculinities, Violence, and Peacebuilding

Since 2002, the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP) of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) has been training women activists in gender-sensitive active nonviolence, through its Training of Trainers Program (ToT). In 2003, the WPP started including sessions on “Masculinities” in its annual ToTs for women peacemakers, and those were met with much enthusiasm.

Over the years, women trainees informed the WPP that while training and empowering women in the area of gender-sensitive peacebuilding was very important, it would not be enough on its own to change the practice of peace-building altogether. They repeatedly indicated that they lacked male supporters for their local peace work, as well as support from male colleagues within their own peace organizations and networks. In order to truly transform cultures of war and violence, they felt they needed to start working with male allies.

With this in mind, the WPP initiated a pilot ToT cycle entitled “Overcoming Violence: Exploring Masculinities, Violence, and Peacebuilding” for male peace activists. The first block of this pilot ToT cycle took place from November 30 through December 11, 2009 in the Netherlands and brought together 19 men from 17 different countries. The video shared above depicts the training and what the 19 male peace activists came away thinking about gender-sensitive peacebuilding.

The WPP believes that training male peace activists in gender-sensitive active nonviolence is important to increase the involvement of men both in gender-sensitive peacebuilding and as allies with women in the fight against gender-based violence and gender inequality. Gender-sensitive male trainers can act as powerful role models for gender equality and are in a good position to reach out to other men.

The WPP also believes that awareness-raising about how people's ideas of masculinities and femininities play a role in war and violence is crucial to bring about transformative change in peacebuilding.

You can read the statement—“Together for Transformation: A Call to Men and Boys”—that the male peace activists released upon completion of their training here.

Click here to watch the WPP video.

Founded in 1919, IFOR is a 90-year-old international and interfaith peace movement of socially engaged citizens who commit themselves to active nonviolence as a way of life and as a means of transformation: personal, social, economic and political. Established in 1997 the WPP works to support and empower women peace activists and actively advocates the recognition of women's experiences of war and conflict and the integration of a gender perspective in peacebuilding processes.