01/12/2022 Equality and Non-Discrimination
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”, according to PACE’s Committee on Equality, since they “can be agents of change by speaking out against harmful practices, acting as role models and challenging sexism”.
Unanimously adopting a draft resolution, based on a report prepared by Petra Stienen (Netherlands, ALDE), the parliamentarians called on member States to adopt strategies or national action plans to prevent and combat gender-based violence and “include action with dedicated budgets to address the responsibility and role of men and boys”.
Awareness-raising campaigns on the responsibility of men and boys in preventing and combating gender-based violence, including as bystanders, should be launched.
According to the parliamentarians, member States should create, if not already done, preventive intervention and treatment programmes for perpetrators of gender-based violence against women and girls, based on existing international standards in this area.