According to UN Women, an estimated 736 million women globally— almost one in three—have been subjected to physical or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their lives. Rates of abuse were higher during the COVID pandemic when many people were confined at home, support services faltered, and accessing help became more challenging. Rates are also higher in conflict-affected areas. Climate change and disasters have also been documented to increase the risk of gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls. We need funding, essential services, prevention, and data to shape interventions. And action needs to be taken, not just by survivors, activists, and decision-makers, but by everyone. Men have a significant role to play in supporting feminist leadership in GBV prevention and response, challenging negative gender norms, advancing advocacy, and practicing and promoting accountability.
To observe the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV (Nov 25–Dec 10), Abt Global is convening a virtual panel of experts who work in the GBV and male engagement space to discuss current trends, challenges in male engagement, and evidence-based approaches and practices.
Welcome remarks:
Roslyn Brock
Chief Global Equity Officer, Abt Global
Roslyn M. Brock is a nationally recognized civil rights, health policy, and equity advocate. Roslyn has 30-plus years of experience providing strategic consultation to corporate boards, executive leadership teams, non-profit organizations, and institutions on talent acquisition, community engagement, capital investments, and risk mitigation. As Abt Global’s Chief Global Equity Officer, Roslyn ensures that equity, diversity, and inclusion are integrated across Abt as an institution and embedded in its programming in order to advance Abt's mission and drive business results. She also guides related investments across all business functions, co-creating methods, tools, and capabilities to support an inclusive culture, market development, and external partnerships.
Panelists:
Katie Carlson-Akuno
Gender Specialist and Founder of Paper Crown Rwanda
Katie is an international gender and development specialist and the founder of Paper Crown Rwanda, a Rwandan NGO that works with youth at the grassroots level to transform gender norms, foster leadership, and create lasting social change. Paper Crown Rwanda engages adolescent girls and boys in participatory dialogue around key topics that inform and empower them to become proactive community leaders in their schools, families, and communities. As an individual, Katie has been participating in feminist study, practice, and activism across numerous different contexts for over 20 years and is distinctly passionate about gender-transformative approaches that are inclusive of men and boys as key players in shifting gender norms and ending GBV.
Leah Goldmann
Coordinating Committee Member, Coalition of Feminists for Social Change (COFEM)
Leah has over 10 years of experience working on violence against women prevention and response, LGBTIQ+ justice, children’s rights, and feminist movements at international and national levels. She aspires to ground her work in the scholarship and practice of transnational feminisms and Majority World-driven theorization of gender justice, anti-racism, and decoloniality. In addition to her support to COFEM, she works with feminist organizations on preventing violence against women, advancing equitable norms change, and meeting organizations’ self-identified needs in various research and writing projects. She is a PhD candidate in women and gender studies, where her research seeks to politicize the male engagement agenda and its implications for feminist movements.
Dan Guinness
Managing Director, Beyond Equality (UK)
Daniel Guinness is an educator, researcher, and speaker who is passionate about equipping men with the awareness and skills to play their part in a better future. He is founder and managing director of Beyond Equality, an organization that gives men and boys opportunities to rethink masculinities to find their roles and relationships in a more equitable, safe, and inclusive future. Beyond Equality has worked with over 100,000 men and boys in the UK, as well as in multiple other countries. Dan is a cultural anthropologist by training, with a DPhil (PhD) from Oxford University, an edited collection of essays on gender in global sports migration, and multiple peer-reviewed publications on masculinity, migration, and precarity. This academic background informs his work through a deep curiosity about individual experiences, cultural norms, and power structures that mediate the specificities of how gender dynamics play out in different organizations or social contexts.
Oswaldo Montoya
Independent Consultant, Gender Equality and Prevention of Violence
Oswaldo Montoya is a social justice educator and advocate with over 25 years of experience in gender equality and violence prevention. Originally from Nicaragua, Oswaldo co-founded the Nicaraguan Men’s Association Against Violence, the first group of its kind in Central America, and authored Swimming Against the Current, a foundational work on men’s roles in supporting gender equality. As a leader within the MenEngage Alliance, he continues to champion accountability and allyship with women’s rights movements worldwide. He is also a facilitator for Men’s Story Project (MSP). Oswaldo holds a master's degree in educational and developmental psychology from Boston College and is certified as a Project Manager Professional (PMP) and Purpose Guide™.
Moderator:
Leisa Gibson
Principal and Head of Gender, Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) and Localisation, Abt Britain
Leisa Gibson has more than 20 years of international experience working for governments, the United Nations, and civil society organizations. Her expertise includes strategic and operational planning, program formulation and delivery, change management, coordination and partnerships, quality assurance, and targeted interventions. She works on such issues as disability, development, inclusive leadership, gender, and gender-based violence (GBV) in humanitarian action, child marriage, women's economic empowerment, and organizational capacity development. As a senior member of our International Technical Practice, Leisa leads gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI). She advises programs on health sector strengthening, GBV prevention and response, governance, and GEDSI mainstreaming.
Additional Resources
Interrogating the Links Between Climate and Gender-Based Violence
Battling Gender-Based Violence in Mozambique
In year 2 of its Clinical HIV/AIDS Services Strengthening (CHASS) project, Mozambique enlisted Abt Global to enhance the country’s gender-based violence (GBV) services alongside its HIV/AIDS services. Working with community-based organizations, Abt was…
Engaging Partners for Equitable and Inclusive Economic Growth
JPMorgan Chase Challenge grantees use varied approaches to engage people and organizations to guide and accelerate achievement of their work toward equitable and inclusive economic growth.
Gender and COVID-19: Could Coronavirus Undo Progress on Australia’s Gains in Ending Violence Against Women and Girls?
Tackling Gender-based Violence Exacerbated by Climate Change
Integrating GBV services into climate action planning can mitigate the risks of GBV and reduce GBV-related challenges experienced by women and girls during acute and slow-onset events.