DOCSLIB.ORG

“They Treated Us in Monstrous Ways” Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women in the Syrian Conflict

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
“They Treated Us in Monstrous Ways” Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women in the Syrian Conflict “They Treated Us in Monstrous Ways” Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women in the Syrian Conflict HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH “They Treated Us in Monstrous Ways” Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women in the Syrian Conflict Copyright © 2020 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-8417 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org JULY 2020 ISBN: 978-1-62313-8417 “They Treated Us in Monstrous Ways” Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women in the Syrian Conflict Glossary ........................................................................................................................... i Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 4 To the United Nations Security Council ........................................................................................4 To the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism .......................................................4 To Humanitarian Organizations and Service Providers in Lebanon ...............................................4 To the Lebanese Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior .................................................... 5 To the Syrian Government ........................................................................................................... 5 To the European Union and Other International Donors ............................................................... 6 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 7 A Note on Gender Identity and Expression .................................................................................. 9 I. Background ................................................................................................................ 10 Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys ............................................................ 10 CRSV: A Male Issue Too ......................................................................................................... 11 Purpose of Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys ................................................................ 13 Underreporting and Misrepresentation .................................................................................. 16 Background of CRSV Against Men and Boys in Syria .............................................................. 20 II. “Soft” Targets of Syria ............................................................................................... 27 Family Violence and Discrimination .......................................................................................... 29 III. Sexual Violence in the Syrian Conflict ....................................................................... 32 Rape ......................................................................................................................................... 32 Rape in Intelligence Branches, Military Prisons and Central Prisons ....................................... 32 Rape in the Syrian Army ......................................................................................................... 37 Rape at Checkpoints ............................................................................................................. 38 Electric Shock, Beating, and Burning of Genitals ........................................................................ 39 Forced Nudity ........................................................................................................................... 40 Threat of Rape ........................................................................................................................... 42 Sexual Harassment ................................................................................................................... 43 IV. Impact of Sexual Violence ......................................................................................... 46 Physical Trauma ....................................................................................................................... 46 Psychological Trauma .............................................................................................................. 48 V. Inadequate Service Provision for Male Sexual Violence Survivors in Lebanon ............. 51 Barriers to Health Services and Protection ................................................................................. 53 Limited Availability of Specialized Services ........................................................................... 54 Lack of Expertise and Poor Treatment by Service Providers .................................................... 56 Lack of Trust .......................................................................................................................... 58 Stigma .................................................................................................................................. 59 VI. Legal Obligations ...................................................................................................... 61 International Humanitarian Law ................................................................................................ 61 Sexual Violence as a War Crime ............................................................................................ 62 International Human Rights Law ............................................................................................... 64 Rights to Life, Security of Person, and Freedom from Torture or Other Ill-Treatment ................ 64 Right to Health ...................................................................................................................... 67 Domestic Law of Syria ............................................................................................................... 67 VII. Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 69 Glossary Biological sex: The biological classification of bodies as male or female based on such factors as external sex organs, internal sexual and reproductive organs, hormones, and chromosomes. Bisexual: The sexual orientation of a person who is sexually and romantically attracted to both women and men. Cisgender: Denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex. Conflict-related Sexual Violence (“CSRV”): Refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage, attempted rape, sexual assault and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked to conflict. That link may be evident in the profile of the perpetrator, who is often affiliated with a state or non-state armed group, which includes terrorist entities; the profile of the victim, who is frequently an actual or perceived member of a political, ethnic or religious minority group or targeted on the basis of actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity or body characteristics; the climate of impunity, which is generally associated with state collapse, cross-border consequences such as displacement or trafficking, and violations of a ceasefire agreement.1 Gay: A synonym for homosexual in many parts of the world; in this report, used specifically to refer to the sexual orientation of a man whose primary sexual and romantic attraction is toward other men. 1 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General, “Conflict Related Sexual Violence,” S/2019/280, March 29, 2019, https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/report/s-2019-280/Annual-report-2018.pdf (accessed July 15, 2020), p.3. i Gender: The social and cultural codes (linked to but not congruent with ideas about biological sex) used to distinguish between society’s conceptions of “femininity” and “masculinity.” Gender Identity: A person’s internal, deeply felt sense of being female or male, both, or something other than female or male. Heterosexual: The sexual orientation of a person whose primary sexual and romantic attraction is toward people of another sex. Homophobia: Fear of, contempt of, or discrimination against homosexuals or homosexuality, usually based on negative stereotypes of homosexuality. Homosexual: The sexual orientation of a person whose primary sexual and romantic attractions are toward people of the same sex. LGBT: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender; an inclusive
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Becoming-Queer-Arab-Activist: the Case of Meem
    Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research Vol. 1, No. 2 (Winter 2015) Becoming-Queer-Arab-Activist: The Case of Meem Sarah Hamdan Abstract: Drawing on the study-case of the Meem queer activist community in Beirut, I analyze the movements of de- territorialization and re-territorialization in the micropolitical flow of their located struggle. I intervene with the Deleuzian notions of becoming nomadic and affirmative politics of difference, the politics of location in the work of Rosi Braidotti, and Audre Lorde’s notion of the erotic to think the becoming-queer-Arab-activist and map the complex processes of non-linear and differential becomings. My purpose is to conceptualize the non-linearity and the movement of the “different difference” of queer Arabness, which blurs the dialectical and identitarian binary of sexuality reproduced by the exotic Gay International and the exclusively discursive frameworks. I use these concepts to map the fluxes and the affirmative affectivities of desire in the Arab queer activism illustrated by Meem’s non-identitarian approach. Kohl 1.2 67 Introduction On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all states. Within minutes, my Facebook newsfeed was invaded by rainbow-colored profile pictures. There were three different tendencies among my Arab friends engaging with the topic. First, the celebratory group posted rainbow pictures and statuses with the #lovewins hashtag; it encompassed Arab LGBT people, activists, supporters, militant atheists, as well as Islamophobes/secularists
    [Show full text]
  • From the Heart?
    LUND UNIVERSITY Master of International Development and Management May, 2008 “STRAIGHT” FROM THE HEART? ADAPTATIONS TO SOCIAL STIGMA AMONG GAYS AND LESBIANS IN LEBANON Author: Erica Li Lundqvist Supervisor: Peter Gregersen Examiner: Anne Järneck ABSTRACT LGBTs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) in Lebanon have for a long time been a target of oppression were legal, economic and social factors have contributed to their historical marginalization. While the Lebanese Penal code in article 534, is criminalizing homosexuality the law is rarely applied and is primarily used to violate the privacy of gay and lesbians by denying them basic human rights. Helem and Meem being the only organizations working explicit with these rights believe that the only way to help is through visibility. One consequence of this visibility of gay and lesbians is a growing homophobia in the society and reluctance towards the subject in hand. By using a conceptual framework the thesis attempts to provide a structure for better understanding of the interactions of gays and lesbians in different levels of the society in Lebanon as well as highlighting the coping and adapting mechanisms that follows marginalization and stigma. The analysis shows that a large part of the target group chooses to live their life in secrecy, fearing exposure. They try to get around the stigmatizing eyes of their fellow citizens by acting “straight” in public while living a “gay life” behind close doors. The study is built on several interviews and observations conducted in Beirut, Lebanon between September and December 2007. Theoretically the thesis conveys and relates to several thoughts within queer theory and discourses concerning identity.
    [Show full text]
  • Discrimination Against Men Appearance and Causes in the Context of a Modern Welfare State
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Lauda Pasi Malmi Discrimination Against Men Appearance and Causes in the Context of a Modern Welfare State Academic Dissertation to be publicly defended under permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lapland in the Mauri Hall on Friday 6th of February 2009 at 12 Acta Electronica Universitatis Lapponiensis 39 University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences Copyright: Pasi Malmi Distributor: Lapland University Press P.O. Box 8123 FI-96101 Rovaniemi tel. + 358 40-821 4242 , fax + 358 16 341 2933 publication@ulapland.fi www.ulapland.fi /publications Paperback ISBN 978-952-484-279-2 ISSN 0788-7604 PDF ISBN 978-952-484-309-6 ISSN 1796-6310 www.ulapland.fi /unipub/actanet 3 Abstract Malmi Pasi Discrimination against Men: Appearance and Causes in the Context of a Modern Welfare State Rovaniemi: University of Lapland, 2009, 453 pp., Acta Universitatis Lapponinsis 157 Dissertation: University of Lapland ISSN 0788-7604 ISBN 978-952-484-279-2 The purpose of the work is to examine the forms of discrimination against men in Finland in a manner that brings light also to the appearance of this phenomenon in other welfare states. The second goal of the study is to create a model of the causes of discrimination against men. According to the model, which synthesizes administrative sciences, gender studies and memetics, gender discrimination is caused by a mental diff erentiation between men and women. This diff erentiation tends to lead to the segregation of societies into masculine and feminine activities, and to organizations and net- works which are dominated by either men or by women.
    [Show full text]
  • 7. Not So Romantic for Men
    DENNIS S. GOUWS 7. NOT SO ROMANTIC FOR MEN Using Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe to Explore Evolving Notions of Chivalry and Their Impact on Twenty-First-Century Manhood THE NEED FOR A NEW MALE STUDIES The New Male Studies offer an alternative to conventional gender-based scholarship on boys and men.1 Unlike Men’s-Studies research, which is fundamentally informed by gender feminism, New-Male-Studies research focusses on boys’ and men’s lived experiences and shares its concern about gender discrimination against all people with equity feminism.2 The New Male Studies are embodied and male positive (male affirming): their approach to manhood, which results when one “configure[s] biological masculinity to meet the particular demands of a specific culture and environmental setting,” not only celebrates males’ experience of different manhood cultures and subcultures, but also critiques—and suggests strategies for overcoming—systemic inhibitors of masculine affirmation (Ashfield, 2011, p. 28; Gilmore, 1990). An acute attentiveness to how manhood is inscribed in texts, textual criticism, and pedagogy is central to their methodology. In much of Western culture and literature, gynocentric (women-centered) and misandric (male-hating) value judgments have adversely influenced boys’ and men’s lives. For example, pervasive stereotypes of manhood that rely on gynocentric and misandric assumptions about males infer that it is acceptable to regard them as little more than pleasers, placaters, providers, protectors, and progenitors; such stereotypes assume the male body is primarily an instrument of service rather than the dignified embodiment of a sentient boy or a man (Nathanson & Young, 2001, 2006, 2010).
    [Show full text]
  • Country Advice Lebanon Lebanon – LBN36239 – Homosexuals – Akkar 16 March 2010
    Country Advice Lebanon Lebanon – LBN36239 – Homosexuals – Akkar 16 March 2010 1 I have read Research Response LBN31497 which touches directly on these topics. It was written in 2007 – could I please have an update of the situation in Lebanon in 2010. The following information provides an update on RRT Research Response LBN31497 dated 16 March 2007.1 Sources indicate that Lebanon tends to be more accepting of homosexuals than other Arab countries, the government funds some of the activities of Lebanese gay rights group Helem, and the co-founder of Helem has commented on a more accepting coverage of LGBTI [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex] issues in the Lebanese press. There was also reference to improved treatment of cases involving homosexuals by the police. There were reports, however, of discrimination against homosexuals persisting in Lebanon. One source indicates that Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code, which prohibits having sexual relations that ―contradict the laws of nature,‖ remains a threat, although there was also a report of a judge in the Batroun District in December 2009, giving the first decision determining that ―unnatural sexual intercourse‖ did not apply to homosexual activity. Other sources refer to reports of harassment and violence against homosexuals. While sources refer to improved treatment by the police, there were also reports of abuse of homosexuals by police. While social attitudes towards homosexuals were said to have improved, one source said this was mainly true for Beirut and not the country‘s rural areas, although there was improvement in some rural areas as well. Sources differed over whether the election of moderate political parties in Lebanon‘s June 2009 elections would benefit the gay community.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of Lebanon and Egypt
    EVIDENCE REPORT No 158 IDSSexuality, Poverty and Law Sexuality, Development and Non-conforming Desire in the Arab World: The Case of Lebanon and Egypt M.S. Mohamed October 2015 The IDS programme on Strengthening Evidence-based Policy works across seven key themes. Each theme works with partner institutions to co-construct policy-relevant knowledge and engage in policy-influencing processes. This material has been developed under the Sexuality, Poverty and Law theme. The material has been funded by UK aid from the UK Government, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies. AG Level 2 Output ID: 240 SEXUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND NON-CONFORMING DESIRE IN THE ARAB WORLD: THE CASE OF LEBANON AND EGYPT M.S. Mohamed October 2015 This is an Open Access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are clearly credited. First published by the Institute of Development Studies in October 2015 © Institute of Development Studies 2015 IDS is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (No. 877338). Contents Abbreviations 2 1 Introduction: connecting sexuality to development 3 2 Historical background 6 2.1 Reversing roles 7 3 Methodology 8 4 Egypt and Lebanon: post-independence to present 9 4.1 Lebanon 9 4.2 Egypt 11 5 Conclusion 17 References 18 1 Abbreviations CSO Civil Society Organisation ILGA International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
    [Show full text]
  • Lebanon: Legal Status of Homosexuals
    Response to Information Request LBN102624.FE Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada www.irb-cisr.gc.ca Français Home Contact Us Help Search canada.gc.ca Home > Research > Responses to Information Requests RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS (RIRs) New Search | About RIRs | Help The Board 9 November 2007 About the Board LBN102624.FE Biographies Organization Chart Lebanon: Legal status of homosexuals; treatment of homosexuals by the authorities and the population (2005 - October 2007) Employment Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa Legal and Policy References Legal status Publications Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code criminalizes "unnatural sexual Tribunal intercourse," which is punishable by up to one year of imprisonment (Helem n.d.c). Refugee Protection In practice, homosexual acts fall under this law (ibid.). Division Although the 2001 Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that terms of Immigration Division imprisonment of less than one year are not implemented, detainees in Lebanese Immigration Appeal prisons are often held for lengthy periods as they await trial (ibid.). Division Decisions The Los Angeles Times indicates that article 534 is rarely enforced (24 June 2007), but another source reports that the law can have damaging effects on the Forms lives of homosexuals (Daily Star 19 May 2006). For example, homosexual victims Statistics of crimes sometimes avoid filing complaints with the police (ibid.; BBC 26 May Research 2006). Moreover, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) indicates that police sometimes abuse the legislation and harass homosexuals (ibid.), but this Research Program information could not be corroborated among the sources consulted within the time National constraints for this Response.
    [Show full text]
  • 37Th UPR WORKING GROUP SESSIONS SOGIESC RECOMMENDATIONS (18 – 29 January 2021)
    37th UPR WORKING GROUP SESSIONS SOGIESC RECOMMENDATIONS (18 – 29 January 2021) This report contains a summary and the SOGIESC recommendations of the 37th UPR Working Group Sessions. The structure of the report includes SOGIESC remarks made by the State under Review, advanced questions from Member States and recommendations of Cycle II and III. The report is based on the draft report submitted by the Working Group and notes taken by ILGA during the Working Group Sessions and drafted by Gabriel Galil (Senior Programme Officer) For further information on the UPR, please contact: [email protected]. TABLE OF CONTENTS AUSTRALIA 3 AUSTRIA 9 FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA 16 GEORGIA 19 LEBANON 27 MAURITANIA 32 MYANMAR 35 NAURU 38 NEPAL 41 OMAN 47 RWANDA 50 SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS 53 SAINT LUCIA 58 SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE 65 AUSTRALIA UPR SOGIESC RECOMMENDATIONS DATE AND TIME OF THE REVIEW: 20 JANUARY 2021, 09:00-12:30 DATE AND TIME OF THE ADOPTION OF THE REPORT: 22 JANUARY 2021, 15:00-18:00 During the 37th UPR Working Group Sessions, Australia received 5 SOGIESC recommendations. It accepted 2 recommendations and noted the other 3 recommendations. A. SOGIESC Information National Report 2. Since our second cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2015, Australia has made significant achievements in the realisation of human rights. These include significant investments addressing family and domestic violence, human trafficking and modern slavery and the legalisation of same-sex marriage. 30. Some groups are more vulnerable to FDSV and may experience greater impacts or have reduced options for support. In 2016–17, Indigenous females aged 15 and over were 34 times as likely to be hospitalised for family violence as non-Indigenous females.
    [Show full text]
  • Feminists Against Sexual Violence in War: the Question of Perpetrators and Victims Revisited
    social sciences $€ £ ¥ Article Feminists against Sexual Violence in War: The Question of Perpetrators and Victims Revisited Maja Korac Department of Social Sciences, Cass School of Education and Communities, University of East London, London E16 2RD, UK; [email protected] Received: 26 June 2018; Accepted: 26 September 2018; Published: 30 September 2018 Abstract: This article reflects upon feminist activism and analyses of sexual victimisation of women in war during the 1990s. It critically examines the reasons for the continuation of this type of violence against women, despite its recognition as a war crime; the recognition that marked one of the significant achievements of feminist activism during the last decade of the 20th century. The discussion points to the centrality of sexual violence in war for the system of gender based violence (GBV) against both women and men in war. It argues that a relational understanding of the gendered processes of victimisation in war is critical. This approach enables an acknowledgement that sexual violence in war and rape, as one of its expressions, is a violent political act that is highly gendered both in its causes and consequences, and, as such, it affects both women and men. This article provides an overall argument for the need of feminist scholarship and activism to engage with these differently situated experiences and practices of victimisation in war, to ‘unmake’ it. Keywords: sexual violence against women; sexual violence against men; feminist anti-war activism; de-politicisation of male-on-male sexual violence 1. Introduction I belong to the generation of women, feminist scholars, and activists, who were engaged in efforts to make sexual violence and rape of women in war visible and recognised as a war crime.1 At the time, I felt that all the work, both political and scholarly, compassion and empathy that characterised feminists’ engagement during the 1990s had the ultimate positive impact on the situation of women in war zones.
    [Show full text]
  • Domestic Abuse Against Men in Kenya
    Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2021 Domestic Abuse Against Men in Kenya Catherine W. Kigaya Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Epidemiology Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Health Professions This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Catherine Kigaya has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Jirina Foltysova, Committee Chairperson, Public Health Faculty Dr. Gudeta Fufaa, Committee Member, Public Health Faculty Dr. JaMuir Robinson, University Reviewer, Public Health Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.D. Walden University 2021 Abstract Domestic Violence Against Men in Kenya by Catherine Kigaya MSN, University of Maryland, 2008 BS, University of Maryland, 2005 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Health Walden University February 2021 Abstract Domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence (IPV), is prevalent globally and causes severe physical, psychological, and social harm to victims. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to highlight the predictors of physical and sexual IPV among men in Kenya and examine the influence of media in seeking help.
    [Show full text]
  • 10Th January 2018 Dear Dr. Birch, GAP President and GAP Executive Committee, APPLICATION for GAP MEMBERSHIP We, the Organi
    10th January 2018 Dear Dr. Birch, GAP President and GAP Executive Committee, APPLICATION FOR GAP MEMBERSHIP We, the organisations listed below, hereby submit our formal request for the General Assembly of Partners, in accordance with its Constitution and Bylaws, to consider our application for the creation of a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Partner Constituent Group. Millions of LGBTI people live in cities across the world, often migrating to urban areas in search of tolerant and progressive communities. Yet LGBTI people in urban areas continue to face violence and discrimination on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or intersex status (SOGIESC). As a result many LGBTI people living in cities and other urban areas are excluded from essential service provision including health and education services and disproportionately represented in statistics measuring homelessness. The New Urban Agenda clearly calls for cities that eliminate all forms of discrimination and are just, safe, healthy, accessible and resilient for all. This cannot be achieved without the inclusion of LGBTI people. Civil society is determined to embrace the progressive opportunities that cities provide to address the challenges LGBTI people face and deliver on the commitments made in the New Urban Agenda. We recognise the General Assembly of Partners as a self organised coalition of civil society organisations that has helped secure the inclusion of traditionally excluded and marginalised groups and their concerns in the New Urban Agenda and UN Habitat activities. This joint application comes from broad and representative organisations and activists based in the US, UK, Lebanon, India, Russia, Canada, Tanzania, Finland, Ecuador and Turkey that work at the global level, engaging with United Nations processes, as well as at the local level, with LGBTI individuals and communities in cities across the world.
    [Show full text]
  • How a Lack of Accountability Undermines Work to Address Violence Against Women and Girls
    Feminist perspectives on addressing violence against women and girls: How a lack of accountability The Coalition of Feminists for Social Change undermines work to address violence against women and girls Executive Summary Feminist analysis and activism have been instrumental in achieving gains in women’s rights, including action to address violence against women and girls (VAWG). Over the past two decades, strong local, national and international women’s movements have brought VAWG, including in armed conflict and natural disasters, into the public domain as a development, public health, international peace and security and women’s rights issue. Although the late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed positive developments regarding VAWG, many of these gains are now under threat. In many countries, we are witnessing the erosion of women’s human rights to live free from violence and exercise their full and equal rights in all domains; women’s rights organisations’ efforts to address VAWG face mounting challenges. Further evidence of this trend is the shrinking space for women’s movements and women’s rights work across local, national and global contexts. This paper considers a specific concern linked to this trend: accountability to women and girls in the programming, policy and support of male involvement efforts to prevent and respond to VAWG. The paper discusses four practices that reduce accountability to women and girls, all of which result from a lack of feminist analysis: 1) investment in male involvement programming without demand or evidence; 2) male-dominated efforts that do not support women’s leadership; 3) shifts toward men’s priorities and needs; and 4) failure to transform patriarchy.
    [Show full text]