The Training Institute for Mobilizing Men (TIMM) came to a close on May 20, 2009 with a final gathering that took place in New York City.

The eight participating coalitions (Idaho, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Texas) and their community partners spoke thoughtfully with the social change organizations that offered them technical assistance during this two year process: Men Stopping Violence and A Call to Men. Representatives from the Office on Violence Against Women, the sponsoring entity, were also present supporting the work of the TIMM Initiative.

The TIMM Initiative sought to reinforce the work of domestic violence coalitions in engaging men and boys through community partnerships to end violence against women. Each coalition was paired up with a representative from either A Call to Men or Men Stopping Violence. The technical assistance coalitions received from these organizations varied depending on need. Some of the struggles that were shared about the kind of technical assistance people received included discussions on privilege based on gender, race and sexual orientation. Another challenge that was presented was the issue of accountability to women and following women’s leadership. Men Stopping Violence and A Call to Men worked with coalitions and community partners to help them work through these issues to strengthen their collaborations.

There were many lessons learned as a result of this process. Men Stopping Violence will be providing a final draft of those lessons to groups interested in engaging and mobilizing men. In brief, some of the lessons learned included:

1.) The assumption of using a heterosexist paradigm when engaging men and boys needs to change.
2.) There is a great need for national organizations that engage and mobilize men and boys to work collaboratively to build a stronger branch of the violence against women movement.
3.) A greater understanding of why statewide domestic violence coalitions do not seem interested in engaging men and boys to end violence against women needs to be found.
4.) It is necessary to work in real solidarity with women in order to further the VAW movement. What does true solidarity look like?

TCFV benefited from the technical assistance of John Trammel from Men Stopping Violence who helped them in framing and editing their Guide to Engaging Men and Boys in Preventing Violence Against Women. This guide will be available electronically in the Fall of 2009

A Call to Men’s Fourth Annual Conference: Stand Up and Speak Out! To End Violence Against Women took place from May 21-22, 2009 in New York City. More than 200 people representing a diversity of backgrounds, participated in this gathering place for women and men in the movement to end violence against women. Conference speakers included such acclaimed national leaders as Etiony Aldarondo, Desireé Allen-Cruz, Dick Bathrick, Ulester Douglas, Joe Ehrmann, Eve Ensler, Nana Fosu-Randall, Rus Ervin Funk, David J.H. Garvin, Jackson Katz, Paul Kivel and Tonya Lovelace.

A glimpse into some of the powerful speakers at the conference…

Paul Kivel enlightened the conference participants by globalizing men’s violence and linking it to larger social issues like militarization, global warming and the current economic crisis. He asked attendees to seriously consider what they stand for and who they stand with. He asserted that being an ally is a practice, not an identity, and is constantly evolving in ways where allies can use their access and resources to further the struggle. He further charged that “accountability” is mere rhetoric and not practice. Accountability to women, he stated, entails being engaged in an on-going conversation with women doing frontline work. He challenged the men in the room to consider these issues as they move forward with their work to end violence against women. He further stated that the Man Box works against being a good ally as it trains men to regulate society as soldiers, deans, disciplinarian fathers, police officers and immigration officials, which in turn furthers inequality. Homophobia, he stated, is the way that people police each other and should be considered the walls of the Man Box. Thus, if homophobia is not eradicated, violence will prevail.

Eve Ensler spoke about violence against women from a global perspective. As the author of the Vagina Monologues she disclosed that many people throughout the world reach out to her to share their stories of gender violence. She described her work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and shared information about the extreme violence against women that is occurring in that region. Over 250,000 Congolese women and girls have been raped, often killed as a result of their injuries due to the ongoing warfare and violence in the region. She asked us to take action, for, as she asserted, “if violence against women can be eradicated in the Congo it can be eradiated anywhere.” She described, in great detail, some of the stories she had heard about the violence that is occurring in that region, some which came from the first hand accounts of Dr. Denis Mukwege, an OBGYN from the region who has risked his life to continue to help the women and girls affected by the violence.

To read Eve Ensler’s article about violence against women in Congo Click Here
For More Information on Eve Ensler’s campaign to end violence in the Congo Click Here

A screening of the documentary Private Violence, a film by Kit Gruelle and Cynthia Hill, also took place during the conference. The film seeks to document the domestic violence movement in a way that is accountable to roots of the movement and to the current manifestation of the movement. It is being created by women who are part of the movement and who want to see a shift in the way that domestic violence and the movement as a whole are portrayed by popular media. The filmmakers are seeking guidance from anti-violence advocates to frame their work.

Through inspirational events such as these, the conference helped to further understanding of male violence and what groups around the nation and around the world are doing to prevent this violence from continuing. In doing so, it reinvigorated people’s commitment to the work.

A short documentary film examining the contrasting styles of manhood exhibited by President Barack Obama and Rapper/Mogul Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent.

In December 2008, the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV), in collaboration with Men Stopping Violence (MSV) of Atlanta, GA offered an online training opportunity for domestic violence programs and providers on Engaging Men and Boys in the Prevention of Family Violence. The training was in webinar format and was facilitated by experts in the field of engaging men and boys in preventing violence against women and children. MSV offered practical principles for engaging men and boys, shared their lessons learned and challenges of doing engagement work over the past three decades, and explored the wide range of ways men and boys can become involved in preventing violence through programming.

Click here to download the PowerPoint presentation. For trainer bios, click here.

The Texas Council on Family Violence in collaboration with the Rape Crisis Center for Children and Adults (RCC) in San Antonio offered a free online training for domestic violence and sexual assault program personnel and other community antiviolence advocates. The training outlined key points for working with schools to respond effectively to teen dating violence. It covered important topics such as building partnerships with schools, helping schools comply with the new dating violence laws, and expanding the impact of teen dating violence prevention work.

The principal trainer was Rick Gipprich, Director of Education and Training at RCC. Rick has been responsible for overseeing comprehensive school-based prevention of violence against women throughout San Antonio and surrounding areas.

Domestic violence and sexual assault service providers and community allies working with schools can obtain access to the PowerPoint of this presentation by requesting a copy from the Texas Council on Family Violence at prevention@tcfv.org.

Click on the links to access a copy of a Safety Plan and Stay Away Agreement.