Men and boys have a crucial role to play in promoting gender equality in their families, communities, and society more broadly. It is critical to engage directly with men about the role they can play in creating a more just and prosperous society for all, and give them space to reflect on some of the beliefs which may be harmful to women and girls in Kurdistan and across the world.

In Kurdistan, as in many other parts of the world, high levels of intimate partner violence and other forms of GBV are linked to high gender inequality and exacerbated by the destructive impacts of prolonged conflict and exposure to violence. Rigid social norms do not always afford men and boys the space to recognize, understand and recover from trauma, nor seek support to improve their mental health and well-being, perpetuating and normalizing negative coping mechanisms, such as perpetrating more violence.

SEED Foundation, in partnership with Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, conducted formative, qualitative research to explore attitudes, values, and interest in engaging men and boys in gender equity, with host community members, Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs), and Syrian refugees in the KRI.

This research, conducted in and around Erbil, informed the development of an intervention to reduce intergenerational violence in Kurdistan, by working with 14 to 19 year old adolescent boys and their fathers. The project aims to reduce gender-based violence (GBV) by promoting healthy masculinities, using a contextually adapted curricula, previously used in other locations by Equimundo and its local partners.

Thanks to the generous support of the United States Government, SEED Foundation will lead the intervention’s implementation in 2022–2023.