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Practical
Steps for Starting a
Male Involvement Program
The
evaluation of male involvement prevention programs has not been rigorous
enough to illustrate direct links to pregnancy prevention. Many programs
point to their success in recruiting men, keeping them engaged in activities,
and keeping their programs administratively and financially sustained
as indicators of success.14 Keys
to sustainability lie in these programs' lessons learned that cut across
such male involvement programs.
- Identify
appropriate messages that are sensitive to audience age, stage of development,
and cultural and religious background. Programs need to identify
what messages will motivate young men to consider their reproductive
health and change their sexual decision making and behaviors. Use of
focus groups and interviews with young men and key informants in the
community can help with identifying these messages. Messages may vary
depending on the age of the young men, their experiences, and cultural
or religious backgrounds. Many programmers recommend that the information
be delivered in a manner that is real, accessible, nonthreatening, and
entertaining. 15 16
- Reach
out to men in their own settings. Since men may not be utilizing
services at health facilities, prevention efforts need to reach men
in their own settings. This may mean reaching men through schools, sports,
youth clubs, recreation centers, in the workplace, or any other location
in the community where men tend to congregate. 17
18 19
- Build
support, relationships, and collaborations in the community. An
important first step to successful programming in male involvement revolves
around building and strengthening relationships with important community
members and organizations. Not only can these relationships provide
useful insight toward the development of the program, but these collaborations
become the basis for making sure the young men in the community gain
access to and referrals for important services, including pregnancy
prevention. 20 21
22 For example, a health educator
who works with young men can partner with local health centers, mental
health centers and job training centers in order to connect young men
with services they need.
- Include
male staff. Many participants in male involvement programs were
raised in single-parent, female-headed households. As a result, many
young men lack the positive relationships with fathers and older males
that help guide young men into adulthood. Male staff in male involvement
programs may serve as role models to younger men and increase young
men's comfort in asking questions or participating in activities. 23
24
- Assess
the male-friendliness of your program. Programs may go to great
lengths to plan and set-up male services, but even the best planned
program can fail if staff are uncomfortable or unwilling to work with
male clients. This can be especially true in reproductive health which
has traditionally been staffed by women to deliver women's services.
Staff may need the opportunity to voice fears and concerns about working
with male clients. They may need additional training on providing clinical,
counseling, or educational services. Policies, procedures, and protocols
may need to be examined to make sure that male involvement can be incorporated
without jeopardizing or threatening staff or existing clients, services,
or programs. 25
- Identify
potential funding sources. One of the more challenging aspects of
sustaining male involvement programs revolves around the limited funding
designated for reaching men with important family planning and reproductive
health information. The Office of Population Affairs has provided funding
for male involvement demonstration projects and has listed increasing
services to males, emphasizing shared responsibility for preventing
unintended pregnancy and STI/HIV infection as a priority for the future.
Private foundations such as California Wellness Foundation, Ford Foundation,
Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, David and Lucille Packard Foundation and
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have a history of supporting male
involvement programs. 26 27
- Understand
the role gender plays in young men's socialization, development, relationships,
and reproductive behavior and decisions. The messages that young
men receive as they grow up - including messages about being a "real
man", being macho, dominant, always in control, never expressing emotion
or revealing weakness - may jeopardize the reproductive health of both
young men and their partners.
Young men's socialization may lead them to engage in risky sexual behaviors
that put their own and their partner's health at risk. They may feel
pressure to engage in sexual activity or believe they have a "right"
to sex and may even force their partners into engaging in sexual activities
against their will. Young men's physical, emotional, or economic power
over young women may also prevent young women from taking steps to protect
themselves and their partners from pregnancy and disease. Finally, young
men (and young women) may grow up without the skills to communicate
and negotiate equitable roles in relationships and decision making,
making it challenging even for the best-intentioned adolescents to effectively
address reproductive health and family planning decisions.
Programs need to work with young men to explore the harm restrictive
gender roles have on reproductive health and offer young men the opportunity
to explore their values around gender, while offering new models of
masculinity and equitable relationships.
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