Promundo and the University of Pittsburgh are pleased to announce the launch of Manhood 2.0, a gender-transformative community program aimed at adolescent boys and young men ages 15-24 in the United States.
Conventional ideas about “what it means to be a man” often result from rigid ways of looking at people, including their sexuality, attitudes and behaviors. Most messages aimed at boys about growing up to be “real men” lead them toward aggressive or violent behaviors based on anger and away from behaviors that take into account compassion and care, rooted in empathy and solidarity. These ideas can negatively affect the well-being and relationships of men and boys. However, few existing initiatives aim to change them by addressing gender roles and power dynamics.
Manhood 2.0 was developed to engage young men in questioning and transforming harmful gender norms. With the aim of reducing sexual violence and abuse in dating/relationships, Manhood 2.0 encourages adolescent and young men to understand themselves in their own diversity. Participants meet in a safe environment and work together to develop relationships based on consent, respect and the right to sexual health. They are encouraged to talk about gender, about the rigid divisions between men and women, as well as to consider and value other gender expressions.
The initiative is an adaptation of Program H , an evidence-based program launched by Promundo and partners in 2002 that has been used in more than 22 countries around the world and rigorously evaluated in nine. Program H's methodology combines group education sessions with youth-led campaigns and activism. It has become a model curriculum for men and boys, targeting the intersection of gender norms and well-being.
As part of a four-year project supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers at the University of Pittsburgh worked with Promundo to adapt the Program H curriculum for male high school students from low-income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that are mostly young black men.
Manhood 2.0 has been rigorously evaluated in the city since 2015. After the adaptation process, 16 low-income neighborhoods in an urban Pittsburgh community were randomly selected to receive either the intervention (the Manhood 2.0 curriculum) or a control (a job training program ). The intervention will be evaluated in 2018 for its impact on increasing understanding of gender norms and harmful stereotypes, as well as reducing violence between boyfriends and adolescents.
The program recognizes that it is during adolescence that many young men: (1) develop and demonstrate critical thinking skills;
(2) experience intimate and sexual relationships;
(3) create and define masculinity norms for themselves and their peers; It is
(4) develop attitudes and practices related to health, which many bring with them into adult relationships.
Manhood 2.0's Pittsburgh intervention is supported by community partners such as ACM, National Urban League and other organizations that work with youth. Community partners in Pittsburgh mobilize young people to participate in the program, while university students trained by Promundo act as facilitators of the intervention.
Manhood 2.0 was designed to fill the gap in evidence-based programs that prevent violence by transforming traditional gender norms for men and boys in Pittsburgh. It is also in the process of being adapted for implementation in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, in partnership with Child Trends and the Latin American Youth Center.
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