ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the strategies to increase the engagement of men and boys in the prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV), the most common form of violence against women and girls worldwide. The empirical research, done through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 118 men ages 15 to 55 years living in the rural Rakai District of Uganda, has the goal of gaining knowledge of how to successfully engage Ugandan males in programming designed to reduce men’s perpetration of IPV and transform social norms surrounding gender and masculinity. In the rural Rakai District of Uganda, almost 60 percent of women have experienced IPV in their life. Men and boys are the most common perpetrators of IPV and their participation in its prevention is critical. However, violence prevention programs commonly struggle to engage men and boys in their activities. This chapter shows how men and boys in Ugandan fishing villages conceive manliness, and discusses what would make them more interested in participating in IPV reduction programming. Results from the study can inform the delivery of interventions to prevent IPV in sub-Saharan African and other low- and middle-income settings around the world and deepen the understanding of the perception of masculinities.
