KISH Men’s Hub: Cultivating Positive Masculinity for SH Prevention

Background

While mounting evidence suggests that men are the main perpetrators of sexual harassment in higher education institutions, KISH believes that men are a great resource in the fight against systemic violence and sexual harassment.  In this regard, a men’s hub has been established to offer space for engaging men to be part of the solution to kicking out sexual harassment in higher education institutions in general and at Makerere University in particular. The men’s hub is a space for encouraging nonviolent masculinities for both male students and staff through reflections/discussion/dialogue on the meaning of masculinity and understanding the essentials for a ‘man mode’ that is free of any form of sexual violence.  The hub will be a knowledge sharing and advocacy platform for men at the university regarding positive masculinity, sexuality and sexuality-related violence. The hub will be linked to a social media platform that allows public engagement and commentary about the engaging   positive masculinity    and being part of the solution and not the problem  of SH  within Higher  education institutions.

Objectives of the Hub

• Provide a platform for men engagement in a space  of their own and interrogate and stand up against sexual harassment
• Cultivate a culture of   being part of the solution and reverse the negative prescriptions of men as perpetuators
• Provide guidance on active engagement in dismantling the SH culture
• To discuss and dialogue with men and boys about things they can do to help end sexual harassment and assault
• Establish linkages with the university structures and systems for prevention, support and management of SH within the University

Main activities of the hub

1. Men’s Sensitization Dialogues and fireplace type conversations targeting male staff and students to share knowledge on SH and develop strategies as a group to stop SH in HEIs.
2. Social media platform for an assault free zone: The social media platform will focus on key themes regarding positive masculinity, sexuality and sexuality-related to violence. The social media platform targets the public to engage with men and boys about the impacts of minimizing SH on such a public stage as a university

Modes of operation

Men’s dialogue groups for students and staff will be established as nodes of conversations. These will be moderated by senior staff. Specific themes will be jointly developed by the respective groups and shared with the platform.

Quarterly meetings/dialogues will be held separately for students and staff respectively focusing on a particular topic/theme. Keynote speakers will be occasionally invited to engage with the groups on agreed-upon topics of essence Joint meetings of staff and students will be held once a year to showcase solidarity and their role in promoting positive masculinity for addressing sexual harassment within the University.

An annual event of men’s dialogue will have held and open to the entire university and public to showcase the role of men in challenging SH within HEIs.

The proceedings of the respective dialogues will be documented and a publication will be produced at the end of the project Social media platforms will be used as a mode of communication and campaigns against toxic masculinity.