A Qualitative Explorative Study Report on the Roles of Positive Masculinities and Male Engagement in the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls in Malawi

Programs aimed at ending VAWG are now increasingly engaging men and boys as stakeholders, participants, and change agents who could reach other men and bring about gender transformative changes. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that active and meaningful engagement of men and boys is key to achieving gender parity and building positive masculinity, as men play an important role in challenging the patriarchal beliefs and practices that disadvantage women in society. However, there is a need to further explore and establish how best the process of male engagement can be facilitated and supported to the full realization of gender equality between men and women. As such, an in-depth understanding of VAWG/positive masculinity interventions that engage men in gender transformative approaches is necessary and of priority to inform the design and implementation of similar interventions in different African contexts.