Working with Men and Boys: A Strategic Choice in the MENA Region to End Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence (GBV) is defined as violence that is directed against a person on the basis of gender or sex (UNFPA). It includes acts that inflict physical, mental, or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion, and deprivation of liberty. While women, men, boys, and girls can be victims/ survivors of gender-based violence, women and girls are the main victims/survivors. In its physical, psychological, and emotional forms, GBV is exercised in the household, community, and public institutions. GBV stands as an obstacle in the way towards the realization of a wide range of development goals, from the elimination of poverty to the fulfillment of human rights. Globally, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action have provided the appropriate frameworks that women’s organizations and activists can use to fight for the promotion of gender equality and remove all forms of discrimination against women.