Men for Gender Equality Now (MEGEN)

MEGEN engages men from all walks of life, including political leaders, cultural gatekeepers, and young boys, with the goal of transforming men’s concepts of traditional masculinity to new ideas about masculinity, where men value women as fellow human beings.

Presently, MEGEN Kenya is running seven different programmes:

• Rapid Response Team: MEGEN runs a rapid response team, which assists survivors of GBV in accessing medical and legal services, as well as temporary shelter. The team attend courts in its trademark red T-shirts, branded with anti-violence messages in order to show solidarity during court deliberations. In close contact with the police, the team also rescues survivors from violent situations.
• The Men’s Travelling Conference (MTC) and training: Every year during the 16 days of Activism on Violence against Women, MEGEN organises a Men’s Travelling Conference (MTC). During this period, members divide into groups which conduct campaigns across the country reaching out to remote areas, where they meet with men and women in places, such as bus stations, churches, mosques, and provincial administration offices, in order to raise awareness on the role men can play in ending GBV. The methodology includes participatory theatre, community sensitisation workshops, one-on-one dialogue, and distribution of campaign materials with messages about GBV. After the MTC, the team conducts follow-up education and training seminars in communities that are identified during the MTC, to establish MEGEN networks at the community and constituency level.
• Media: In order to increase the impact of the programme, MEGEN liaises with media practitioners, and provides briefs on GBV and the role men can play, in order to improve media coverage on GBV issues.
• Artists: MEGEN has a team of community artists, who develop art and theatre with messages on GBV and gender equality for training and awareness raising purposes.
• Fundraising and consultancy: A committee of members is responsible for raising funds, and for providing consultancy services on issues of GBV and men’s involvement.
• Welfare: In order to secure the well-being of MEGEN members, a fund has been established through which members can be assisted to set up income-generating projects.

MEGEN membership is open to all ages and professional backgrounds, which organisers say makes it easy to reach diverse groups through men-to-men consultations. The project trains male activists on GBV issues, giving them "hands-on experience" in the communities and knowledge to tackle antagonising situations with appropriate skills. The project's strategies aim to expel the fear of the unknown among men by giving them the right definition of terms and facts about the true cost of violence.

Gender-based Violence

By mid-2008, MEGEN was registered as an independent organisation, and it presently has more than 200 active members. MEGEN has formed community structures in 7 districts and 15 constituencies across Kenya.

Other achievements by MEGEN Kenya include:

• Responded to the crisis in Kenya, which was sparked by the disputed results of the Presidential elections of December 2007, through investigating cases of GBV, and organising community dialogue forums with both survivors of violence, and communities perceived as perpetrators, in order to understand the root causes of violence. Many MEGEN members also worked as volunteers in internally displaced people’ camps in areas experiencing severe forms of violence.
• Contributed to the transformation of individual men from perpetrators of violence to supporters and advocates for the movement against GBV.
• Were instrumental in lobbying at grassroots level for the enactment of the Kenyan Sexual Offences Bill in 2006.

According to MEGAN, in Kenya, ideas about manhood are deeply ingrained. Many men grow up believing that dominant behaviour towards girls and women is part of being a man. Risk-taking and aggressive sexual behaviour are often applauded by peers and condoned by society. These stereotypes harm both women and men and erode possibilities of establishing satisfying, mutually respectful relationships. MEGEN has coined male-sensitive messages to challenge these attitudes and to stir debate around issues surrounding masculinity, relationships, and sexuality.