Caribbean must break down unhealthy stereotypes about men

Caribbean must break down unhealthy stereotypes about men – Activist

Jan 16, 2019 News

It is the position of the leading activists in the Caribbean region that the region must radically organize a shifting of the norms surrounding what it means to be a man.
During the “Youth as Partners and Innovators” summit on Youth Violence Prevention, a panel discussion centered on ‘Promoting Healthy Masculinity’.
Amilcar Sanatan, an activist and MPhil Candidate at UWI St. Augustine, spoke on why he believes ‘masculinity’ needs redefining, for the purpose of mitigating Gender Based Violen

Amilcar Sanatan, Activist

ce.
“Why is family the continuous focus of our reforms and changes? Doesn’t that burden women?”
He elaborated that this responsibility should shift to the state, for the issues to be tackled in its development strategies.
Sanatan spoke on why men, who are the primary perpetrators of violence, need to bear the brunt of responsibility for many of society’s social ills. He also said that redefining masculinity doesn’t only mean having men feel comfortable crying, “The idea that crying is the saving grace for masculinity needs to be taken to task.”
The session was meant to take a critical look at the relationship between Caribbean masculinity and violence, with a specific focus on Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Sanatan’s speech, after a dramatic piece on GBV, gave a stark reprimand to attendees, saying “Why do Caribbean people laugh when we see performances of domestic violence? Oftentimes, we laugh because we are aware of the script, oftentimes repeated, and when performed, it’s trivial.”
“Then, in fact, while I commend these young people for putting on a powerful dramatic experience, which is close to life, we have to trouble the idea that men have two voices in their head; one that could beat you today, and one that will not beat you tonight. We also have to trouble the idea that a woman could take she ‘cuff’, cry, then ‘I love you’ tomorrow.”
He elaborated on his work with perpetrators of Gender Based Violence: “In the work I do with perpetrators, women are abused for cooking curry, allu and rice. Woman get abused because she stayed one hour in the cosmetic store, because she’s probably looking for a man.”

Another form of GBV, he explained, is homophobia: “And men also abuse in schools, in a language that we call homophobia, which is just a big word to say that they’re fighting over what is a real man and who is not a man. So school bullying is a very big problem.”
Sanatan’s areas of specialization are Masculinity Studies and Pro-Feminist’s Movement Building, Caribbean Popular Culture Studies, Socialist Feminism, Caribbean Social and Political Thought, and Youth Development and Organising.
Shane Joseph, a panelist from UN Women, said that, “Men must take on the realization that violence is a choice. But most importantly, [each man must try to be] a pillar of victim safety, recognizing a woman and her right to safety, right to be protected and a right to be an individual.”
With UN Women, he has been working on the UN Women’s Partnership for Peace Program that directly engages with perpetrators of GBV. The pilot for that program started in 2006 and has been executed, so far, in Grenada, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Belize, and the British Virgin Islands.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News