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Understand the diversity of boys' and men's experiences and tailor initiatives appropriately

Last edited: October 30, 2010

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Programmes should recognize that not all men are equal - differences in age, education levels, socio-economic status, and experiences of racism, homophobia and other factors need to be addressed. There are also multiple dimensions to each individual man, for example, men may experience power and powerlessness at the same time; a man may feel powerful in his home in relation to his wife, but may feel oppressed at work.

Programmes should also consider other factors when designing programmes to reach men and boys, such as differences in language and culture, rural versus urban contexts, in-school versus out-of-school youth, married versus single men, and differences in employment settings, among others.

Conduct a situation analysis to obtain a better understanding of the diverse population of men and boys and their varying contexts, so that the best entry points and methods for reaching them can be identified.

Tailoring initiatives this way increases the relevance and likelihood of achieving the desired results (Valle et al., 2007).