KYIV, Ukraine — Rigid, traditional views of gender roles in society and stereotypical ideas about masculinity and femininity are common among men in Ukraine, contributing to gender-based violence, unequal treatment for women, and poor mental and physical health outcomes for women and for men themselves, according to a ground-breaking survey initiated by UNFPA.

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The idea of a workshop to teach men how to iron clothes was initially greeted with skepticism, if not outright mockery, by Aleksandar Grujic’s male peers in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. “But afterwards, when they had learned some new tips and tricks, they realized how useful it can be, and how it’s nothing complicated,” says Grujic, who served as an ironing instructor at the first-ever “Men Can Do It Too” fair in Skopje last year.

IMISHLI, Azerbaijan — In the small, remote villages around Imishli district, gender-based violence is largely thought of as a private matter. The stigma around the issue keeps many people from reporting incidents of violence, or even discussing them. As a result, an entire community may be aware of violence happening in a particular household, yet no one ever intervenes. But that is starting to change.

As part of the workshop held with our Change Agents in Kalwa (Thane, Maharashtra), SNEHA team working with adolescent girls supported by UNFPA India conducted a safety audit exercise with 36 participants on 16^th September, 2017. 

An energizer exercise was conducted with the girls, who were asked to enact scenes from within the community, with alcohol shops, tea stalls, toilets, cigarette shops. They were then asked to talk about how and why they felt unsafe in these kinds of spaces.