UN Women Jordan organizes a regional training on engaging men and boys in preventing gender based violence

On 17-19 July 2016, UN Women Jordan organized a training session on engaging men and boys in preventing gender-based violence (GBV) and in gender action planning. The first two days of the training saw the participation of UN Women colleagues from the region, including from Egypt, Palestine and Iraq. In line with UN Women's mandate to foster gender mainstreaming in the UN System, the last day of the training was dedicated to UN Country Team colleagues.

The training aimed to build a better understanding of gender and masculinity among UN staff, and how to engage men and boys in programming, as well as improving skills on gender action planning. An overview of gender norms, masculinity and the key principles of gender equality was presented during the various sessions, as well as the meaning of gender in identity, language and gender-related stereotypes. Interactive group activities also addressed issues related to access to justice and the cost/benefits balance of gender injustice from a various gender prospective.

Finally, the trainer introduced an overview on gender and sexual diversity in humanitarian action and how participants, from different UN agencies as well as colleagues from UN Women offices in the Arab states, could use and mainstream these principles in their current work through practical examples. This initiative has been generously funded by the Government of Japan.