For the third consecutive year, the World Food Programme (WFP) offered its personnel a chance to participate in the workshop Understanding Masculinities and Violence against Women and Girls delivered by the UN Women Training Centre. This course aims provides understanding on masculinity and its connection with violence against women and girls (VAW/G), and identify actions to challenge harmful masculine norms and practices as a process to promote gender justice.

The workshop, which took place from 6 – 9 December 2016, was offered to 25 WFP personnel and staff members of partner agencies, both technical and non-technical personnel, programmmes and operations.

Scheduled under the Umbrella of the 16 Days of Activism of the UN Secretary General Campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls, this training aimed to:

• Enhance conceptual understanding about what masculinity means, its construction, and its connection with violence, inequality, and power imbalance
• Understand what violence means in both personal and professional contexts
• Foster critical self-reflection on privilege and promote activism for social change
• Reaffirm personal and institutional commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Understand how WFP policies address Gender Based Violence

The course Understanding Masculinities and Violence against Women and Girls is part of the Training Centre customized courses that can be adapted to fit the needs of the audience. It includes the following modules:

• Gender power relations
• Masculinity and violence against women and girls
• Towards personal transformation

In addition to this customized course, the UN Women Training Centre has also made available a Self-Learning Booklet on Masculinities and Violence Against Women and Girls. The booklet equips readers with the information they need to better recognize and understand masculinities and VAW/G, including links to further useful resources.