The role and responsibility of men and boys in stopping gender-based violence against women and girls
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 25 January 2023 (6th sitting) (see Doc. 15678, report of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
rapporteur: Ms Petra Stienen). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 25 January 2023 (6th sitting).
1. Gender-based violence against women
and girls, which finds its origin in and reflects profound gender inequalities,
is widespread and harmful. It affects society as a whole and should
be recognised as a global human rights issue. In Europe, it is estimated
that one in three women is a survivor of gender-based violence. No
country and no sector are immune to this violence. A few years ago,
the #MeToo movement went viral and contributed to a lifting of taboos.
It has created a greater awareness of the urgency of preventing
and combating gender-based violence.
2. The fight against gender-based violence has been historically
led by women and women’s rights organisations. However, men and
boys, in all their diversity, also have an important role to play.
Men can be agents of change by speaking out against harmful practices,
acting as role models and challenging sexism. They are often best
placed to call on other men to be active in the fight against gender-based
violence and to set an example for future generations. All genders,
including men in all their diversity, can and should be allies and
partners in the fight for gender equality and against gender-based
violence.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly recognises the responsibility of
men and boys in preventing and stopping gender-based violence against
women and girls and urges them to be proactive in this regard. It
acknowledges that not all men are perpetrators of gender-based violence
but that the majority of perpetrators are men. It welcomes the adoption
of the Dublin Declaration on the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual
and Gender-Based Violence on 30 September 2022 by 38 Council of
Europe member States, which committed to “ensuring that strategies
aimed at preventing and combating violence against women also address
the specific role of men and boys in preventing violence against
women” and to developing specific measures aimed at involving them. It
recalls its
Resolution
2027 (2014) “Focusing on the perpetrators to prevent
violence against women”, its
Resolution
2274 (2019) “Promoting parliaments free of sexism and
sexual harassment” and its
Resolution
2405 (2021) “Revision of the Code of conduct for members
of the Parliamentary Assembly: introducing the explicit prohibition
of sexism, sexual harassment and sexual violence and misconduct”.
The Assembly’s #NotInMyParliament awareness-raising initiative was
launched to prevent and combat sexism, harassment and violence against
women in parliaments.
4. Men and boys are not a homogeneous group and masculinities
are multiple. Actions targeted at men and boys need to take this
diversity into account. The Assembly stresses that promoting mindful
masculinities and respectful relationships, as well as the equal
sharing of care responsibilities between women and men, will be
a step towards more gender equality and will be beneficial to society.
To this end, education and raising awareness of men and boys can
play an important part. Talking about the pyramid of violence could
also be a starting point of the discussion.
5. The Assembly recognises that men and boys can also be affected
by gender stereotypes and models of harmful masculinity and stresses
the importance of adopting a gender perspective that is inclusive.
Men, including men in positions of political, economic or social
power, must be part of the response and participate in changing
mindsets, behaviours and social norms in order to prevent and combat
gender-based violence. Parliamentarians, as influential public figures
and legislators, hold a special responsibility for contributing
to gender justice and society’s mobilisation against gender-based
violence.
6. The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210, “Istanbul
Convention”) states in its Article 12, paragraph 4, that all members
of society, especially men and boys, should be encouraged to contribute
actively to preventing violence. The Assembly has relentlessly called
for the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention.
It recalls that the fight against gender-based violence is closely
connected to the fight against gender-based stereotypes and patriarchal
values, and reiterates its full support for the convention. The deconstruction
of systems of patriarchal privileges will be a key step to reaching
gender equality and ending impunity for perpetrators of gender-based
violence. The Assembly deplores the development of anti-gender movements
which deny the reality of gender-based violence and calls for a
resistance against the backlash.
7. The Assembly welcomes the adoption by the United Nations Human
Rights Council of Resolution A/HRC/35/10 “Accelerating efforts to
eliminate violence against women: engaging men and boys in preventing and
responding to violence against all women and girls”. It supports
the Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Europe and welcomes
its work towards adoption by the Committee of Ministers of guidelines
on the place of men and boys in gender equality policies and in
policies to combat violence against women.
8. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
Council of Europe member and observer States, as well as all States
whose parliament enjoys observer or partner for democracy status
with the Assembly to:
8.1 ratify
and implement the Istanbul Convention, if they have not yet done
so;
8.2 adopt strategies or national action plans to prevent and
combat gender-based violence and provide for measures with a dedicated
budget that promote responsibility and the role of men and boys;
8.3 adopt legislation on defining rape by the absence of consent,
if this has not yet been done, in line with the requirements of
the Istanbul Convention, which states that “consent must be given
voluntarily as the result of the person’s free will assessed in
the context of the surrounding circumstances” (Article 36);
8.4 implement Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)1
to member States on preventing and combating sexism;
8.5 launch awareness-raising campaigns on the responsibility
of men and boys in preventing and combating gender-based violence,
including as bystanders;
8.6 promote a gender-balanced representation in the cultural,
economic, media, public and political sectors;
8.7 create, if they have not already done so, preventive intervention
and treatment programmes for perpetrators of gender-based violence
against women and girls, based on existing international standards
in this area;
8.8 provide comprehensive training for professionals, including
members of the police, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, healthcare
professionals and social workers, on all forms of gender-based violence against
women and girls, on detecting and responding to gender-based violence,
on assistance to survivors and on the rights of victims;
8.9 adopt policies and measures encouraging the equal participation
of men in care activities;
8.10 improve data collection on gender-based violence in line
with existing standards and good practices in this area;
8.11 support research into the costs of harmful masculinity
for society and the costs of gender-based violence;
8.12 publicise the harmful effects of gender-based violence
on survivors and on society in general;
8.13 adopt an intersectional approach, taking into account
all diversities and intersecting forms of discrimination, in the
fight against gender-based violence;
8.14 encourage discussions on gender equality, the sharing
of care responsibilities and combating sexism and gender-based violence
in workplaces;
8.15 support male role models engaged in the fight against
gender-based violence and in the promotion of mindful masculinities;
8.16 provide financial support to non-governmental organisations
working on preventing and combating gender-based violence, including
providing assistance to survivors, and additional financial support
to non-governmental organisations promoting gender equality through
combating harmful masculinities and arranging activities focusing
on the responsibility of men and boys in this fight.
9. With regard to preventing and combating gender-based stereotypes,
the Assembly calls on these States to:
9.1 invest in education on gender equality from the youngest
age, and in the training of teachers on gender equality, and ensure
that gender equality is discussed at school on a regular basis;
9.2 develop toolkits designed to challenge stereotypical gender
roles;
9.3 ensure the provision of comprehensive sexuality education
that includes discussions on gender-based stereotypes, the meaning
of consent and respect in intimate relationships;
9.4 ask sports clubs and federations to contribute to the
fight against gender-based stereotypes and to promote gender equality;
9.5 encourage the production of cultural programmes that address
gender roles and masculinities;
9.6 encourage media outlets to react to sexist remarks and
behaviour, take responsibility and step up prevention efforts.
10. The Assembly calls on national parliaments to ensure that
they are free of gender-based violence and sexism and encourages
them to organise awareness-raising events on the responsibility
of men and boys to prevent and stop gender-based violence and on
mindful masculinities.
11. The Assembly calls on political parties to make the fight
against gender-based violence a political priority and to promote
the participation of women in their decision-making bodies. It also
calls on them to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on gender-based violence
and initiate seminars on preventing and combating it.
12. The Assembly calls on all its members, including men, in all
their diversity, to speak up against manifestations of gender-based
violence, to be proactive in preventing and fighting gender-based
violence, to counter misogyny in politics and to initiate debates
on gender equality in their national parliaments.
