Background and Justification:

The enactment of gender responsive laws and the constitution in

Kenya has herald a new impetus in guaranteeing womens rights.
However, the big challenge remain in the implementation of the existing
laws. Duty bearers who are often men in some of the government
institutions harbor negative attitudes towards women and girls and
may be a stumbling block in the implementing the existing laws.
Domestic Violence is a major obstacle in advancing the social
wellbeing of men, women, boys and girls in many communities in
Kenya.
Acts of domestic violence are the most common , widespread and
occur in confines of the home even though it impacts on the public.
Women and girls suffer irreversible consequences of domestic
violence including death.



Background and Justification:

From an early age, boys are socialized into gender roles designed
to keep men in power, while girls are socialized into submissive
and subordinate roles. We re-socialize men to use their power to
prevent domestic violence while women must be able to demand a
violence free life.
Men are the majority perpetrators while women are the
survivors or victims of domestic violence. Men often fail to
acknowledge that in the process of violating women and girls, they
also get affected by the consequences of domestic violence.
As the main perpetrators, men must be at the fore in offering
solutions to ending domestic violence.
hence the need to empower individual men and men dominated
institutions to end domestic violence.


Vision:
a peaceful
coexistence
between men
and women at
home


Goal:
Mission:
moving men and boys
from perpetrators to
advocates of domestic
violence free relationships

Goal:
Goal:
Engaging men and boys to lead the
transformation of norms, practices
and attitudes that perpetuate
domestic violence in Kenya;

Objectives:
By 2016 MAIN will have:
Re- socialized Kenyan men and women, boys and girls engaging
in dialogue to prevent domestic conflicts in five counties in
Kenya;
Engaged religious and cultural leading communities in
transforming outdated norms, practices and beliefs that are
repugnant to equality of men and women in 5 counties in Kenya;
Trained men reaching out to their peers with correct information
and knowledge on domestic violence in 5 counties in Kenya;
Domesticated laws by the government of Kenya promoting
equality in treatment of men and women in Kenya;
Strengthened institutional capacity of MAIN fulfilling its core
mandate;




Strategies:

men and Community
empowerment
Advocacy
Human
rights programming
Knowledge
sharing
Behavior
Change Communication
Monitoring and
evaluation
Activities:
Inter gender
Community
Dialogues County
Gender Camps
Psychosocial
Support
Marriage school
Advocacy Missions
Responsible fatherhood
and SRHR Public
Interest Litigation
Training and
sensitization
Target:



Men in organised groups
Individuals
Matatu touts,
Bodaboda
operators,
Cultural Leaders
and gatekeepers,
male
politicians,
women and girls,
Religious Leaders

Where We Work
MAIN is targeting
five counties
though we also work in
other counties with
strategic partnerships;

Nyeri and Kiambu working with
men to eradicate alcoholism for quality
relationship s and violence free life;
National working on advocacy activities
with parliament, line ministries and national
events;
Nairobi Dandora, Korogocho Dagoretti
and Mukuru slums targeting teenage male
youth to combat gang rape and defilement of
girls and women;
Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya
Targeting cultural and religious leaders in
promoting sexual and reproductive health
rights for women and girls in order to combat
HIV spread and infection;

Outputs
Trained 100 Men including touts and boda-boda motorcycle operators from Gatanga, Thika and
Kisumu on dialogue skills with 30 female students from colleges to undertake the strip me not
for women using the Inter gender Dialogues. As a result, there are no new cases of women and
girls being stripped in public in the target towns;
Increased awareness on domestic violence among men together with other stakeholders in the
Million Fathers Campaign. This mobilized a total of 25000 men from Mombasa, Nyeri, Nairobi
and Nakuru to join the movement to end all forms of violence against women and girls. The
movement managed to register top political leaders from these regions to commit to lead efforts
to end violence against women;
Engaged religious and cultural leaders on SRHR in Homabay as a local implementing partners in
the project aimed at empowering religious and cultural leaders in leading efforts to change
cultural practices like widow cleansing that predispose the community to HIV infection;
Participated in the development of the national gender based violence policy in conjunction
with the Ministry of Devolution Directorate of Gender. MAIN is a member of the CSO pushing
for the passing of the domestic violence bill which is in the last reading in parliament of Kenya. ;
Lead CSO as a resident of Embakasi during the national launch of the 16 days of activism 2013
that took place in the constituency ;
Participated in the Justice for Liz campaign where four men defiled a minor in Busia the efforts
mobilized more than one million signatures from around the world and the push for legal
redress in Kenya. Added the mens voice in the BringBackOurGirls global campaign to demand
the release of more than 250 girls who were taken by Boko Haram militia group in Nigeria;
Impact in motion:
Challenges:
Negative socialization of men and boys is done through a long process.
To deconstruct the attitudes and beliefs, interventions require time and
resources to achieve. This require time and long term partnerships and
investment in human and financial resources. Most existing
partnerships are short term and might come to an end before the real
change is achieved in the target communities. Most men led initiative
have little funding for core support and only depend on the activity
grants to survive. This has affected their growth and survival;
Power struggles between religious, cultural and government institutions
in the approach to womens rights has created a loophole as an
excuses by people who perpetuate domestic violence. When the three
institutions work together they present a stronger front in combating
domestic violence;
Lack or low reporting has affected the implementation of the existing
laws through the court. Often when survivors push for legal redress, the
community and people around them push for out of court settlement of
cases of domestic violence;
Membership and Peers:
We Can Campaign
GBV-Prevention Network Raising Voices
Africa UNiTE Kenya
National GBV working group-NGEC
MACS coalition on RMNCH FCI
Million Fathers Movement GVRC
Stripe me not Campaign

Conclusion:
A prevention-based approach to domestic
violence addresses the unequal power
relations between men and women. Moreover,
prevention of domestic violence is in the long
term is more effective and sustainable than
addressing the effects and consequences of
domestic violence as it tackles the root causes
of violence.

Men are able to group and together pursue
concerns around issues of mutual interest.
Men have been identified as the major culprits
in domestic violence, an image that is not
complimentary given that majority of men do
not consider themselves violators of girls and
women. Men as husbands, fathers, sons,
brothers, responsible citizens and equal
partners with women have a role to play in
ensuring the prevention of domestic violence.
With awareness, sensitivity and advocacy
skills, they can effectively reach other men to
tell them that domestic violence is an affront to
masculinity.




Asante
Sana