Men’s Program Leader Ramesh Advani organized a meeting of South Asian men working to prevent violence against women on November 16th. The keynote speaker, Mr. Craig Bohm-Norberg, of Jane Doe Inc., spoke about the history of the Men Against Violence Movement, described the variety of ways in which communities are addressing the issue, and said we need to go beyond tertiary interventions. He suggested ways to engage men by asking:
Secondary prevention for people who are in the stream, vulnerable people, how do we educate and advocate for them, make them safe? Norberg talked about primary prevention, how do we know which people become perpetrators? When does a person become a perpetrator? Social norms define behavior. He encouraged men to tell their stories for primary prevention.
With generous funding from the Saffron Circle, Ramesh brought together performers from the group Phallacies of Northampton and Amherst and organized lunch provided by the Saffron Grill. The group performed seven short and powerful skits about maleness and masculinity in modern Asian communities, portrayed attitudes towards gender violence, and used humor to show the complexity of the problem. Roughly 30 guests then broke into small groups and planned projects for implementation in 2015. If you are interested in being a part of a group, please write to us at info@saheliboston.org.
