Men half as likely to assault partners after parenting course, study finds

Fatherhood classes in Rwanda teach men to be better dads and husbands, challenging traditional gender roles. Topics include taking care of babies, resolving domestic conflicts, sharing household decisions, and explaining sexual violence within a marriage. Participants report gaining new understandings and changing their behavior. One study found men who completed the class were half as likely to commit violence towards their wife in the future. 1,700 men have completed the course since it started in 2014, just a small fraction of the population, but there are plans to scale the program countrywide.

In the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh, Rohingya women are overcoming the societal restraints that bound them at home in Myanmar and becoming leaders and change-makers in their community. Despite resistance from the men, hundreds of women in the camp banded together to form a group called Shanti Mohila. This allowed them to push for more peace and justice and issues like domestic violence, and they even received support from Legal Action Worldwide to prosecute crimes against the Rohingya people.

Groups like Women in New Nigeria and Youth Empowerment Initiative (WINN), in collaboration with local leaders, are addressing stigma and providing support services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violencev(SGBV). These groups educate survivors on the violence they endured, provides them with a safe space to rest and engages them in the community to fight feelings of isolation SGBV survivors often face.

The story of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act starts with a young legal aide to Sen. Joe Biden who did not identify as a feminist and knew little about the issues, but whose methodical building of a coalition and a set of arguments led to the historic passage of the law in 1994. VAWA was the first U.S. federal law to address comprehensively the ancient problem of gender-based violence. A key provision, authorizing federal civil lawsuits by victims, helped many women for six years until the Supreme Court struck it down. The law's other effects, still ongoing, include funding victim-aid groups.

The number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada is high, so a group of Indigenous women formed an organization called Power Our Women (POW) to teach other Indigenous women across the country self-defense skills. Participants talk about their cultures, learn physical self-defense, build confidence, and learn situational awareness. Participants describe the program as healing but difficult. POW has now reached more than 5,000 women across Canada, including remote areas in northern Manitoba.

After surviving a traumatic sexual assault in Nairobi, Wangu Kanja founded the Wangu Kanja Foundation to raise awareness of and prevent gender-based violence. The foundation also provides medical, legal, and psychsocial assistance to survivors, shapes policy, and empowers women financially. One program, called "Gender Defenders," pairs past survivors with recent survivors to provide immediate support.

Group sessions, workplace videos, badges, these are just some of the ways various people around the world are addressing sexual, and physical assault. In light of the #MeToo movement in the U.S., the Christian Science Monitor chronicled four international efforts that attempt to curb toxic masculinity.

In St. Paul, one of Minnesota’s collective approaches to solutions in action — dubbed The Blueprint for Safety — is a foundation of laws that adapt to the proliferation of domestic violence in the state and successful efforts of marrying the advocate community with the criminal justice system.

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) provides comprehensive survivor support services including legal aid, medical care, shelters, and prevention programs, successfully building public trust and securing 140+ convictions while reaching 6.3 million people through awareness campaigns, though significant gaps remain between the 8,692 reported cases and actual access to justice and support services.

Phola uses narrative therapy practices to empower women to overcome gender-based violence by sharing their stories and connecting with others. Participants report that Phola has helped ease their anxiety and depression and has given them the strength to leave harmful situations at home. The project began in 2016 and the Phola methods are now used in 40 countries.