Did you know that "MEN" can?

For decades now, the cry to put an end to violence against women and children has intensified so much that it slowly becomes a regular song and melody to some people. Efforts of governments, unilateral and bilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, churches, civil society and community groups seem not to make the much needed impact to end the suffering recorded everyday.

Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence take the lead, with less that enough effort directed more toward rendering sympathy to victims, rather than dealing with the root, "the perpetrators" of these forms of violence. It is quite common to meet and hungry child and feed them to stop them from crying and getting violent per-say, yet forgetting the root cause which might in some cases be poverty from the home and parents of the child. The case of violence is not different. Whilst we focus more on the women, children and victims of Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence, there is a greater need to place and intensify focus on the men and perpetrators of these forms of violence and much more.

Now, just like targeting a family and working closely with them to end poverty, hunger and possibly futuristic violence from the hungry and angry child, so too must the world generate programs that talk directly to the perpetrators of violence, whichever form it takes. In this regard, I strongly believe that the world needs more of programs that place men positions to talk to other men at large scale, since they reason in the same direction and so could mentor one-to-another for a more sustainable management and mitigation of Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence. Such programs require targeting men-of-impact in various communities, and engaging them in highly beneficial programs since men would listen more to men and men-related issues, than they would really want to engage in women-led, women-centered issues. I'm not saying this to talk down the men, yet I'm not saying this either to give women some reason to think that men are the only perpetrators of various forms of violence. The reverse is true for some societies and families, and this is seen in communities where issues of human rights are really pragmatic and sustainable.

My greatest interest is to know that programs can actually be generated and implemented that speak directly to perpetrators, while incorporating logical ideologies that reshape the thinking of these perpetrators. I would like also to learn more about the existence of such programs, if they already do exist in some communities, and also how we could benefit from such material to extend such impact to our various communities.

Thanks for reading. Your comments, questions and inputs are highly welcome.