Under the premise of “You learn to care”, the “Escuela de Hombres al Cuidado” initiative offers training modules for men in Bogota, Colombia to prevent gender-based violence.
“Now there are things I see differently. I now value the time my mother and wife spend preparing meals, washing dishes and washing clothes,” Holman Rivas told Deutsche Welle. I’m here. “School helps them understand that only women have to do housework,” adds the young man from Bogota. “Many men live the old fashioned way of life, which is not the case,” he criticizes.
Rivas, a 26-year-old professional barber, is one of the participants in Bogota’s “School for Men in Care”. The initiative aims to “promote masculinity illiteracy and the prevention of sexual violence with a focus on work.” “Men and”, as defined by the Undersecretary of Civil Culture of the Colombian capital.
Henry Murrain Knudson, Undersecretary of Citizen Culture in Bogota, said in this interview: half.
“Telling men that their traditional behavior isn’t right doesn’t necessarily give them a clue as to what they should do.
learn to care
This is how the School for Men in Care, a free offering for men 18 and older, was born. There, in a playful way and through a variety of educational tools, they learn to “change knowledge, skills, and beliefs towards engagement in care.” For some men,” points out Murrain Knudson.
Under the premise that “you learn compassion”, In school we learn more than changing diapers and cooking Caring for the home, caring for others, caring for the heart (with a particular emphasis on non-violent management of conflict) and caring for the environment are some of the content of the initiative.
School, in short, is a proposition to avoid learning violent and sexist behavior. said Paula Morales Leal, one of the trainers in charge of the project, in a dialogue with DW.
deep-seated beliefs that are hard to change
Morales Leal from Bogotá said: “But it’s not easy to take yourself apart,” he admits.
“There is derision in strategy, and one of the most common occurs when suggesting men wear kitchen aprons.” , account. “It’s a constant challenge,” he says.
“That school is for okama” and “That school will learn to have fewer guys” are also some of the comments he must have heard in relation to the initiative.
Altogether, schools operating on a mobile basis in small buses that travel through the streets of Bogotá and schools operating directly in “Manzanas del Cuidado” have already successfully trained nearly 4,500 men.
SOS Calm
This initiative will be complemented by the telephone line “Calma”. The phone line “aims to contribute to the prevention of gender-based violence within the family and couples sphere, motivated by machismo, jealousy and dominance.” You can seek advice in an emotional crisis.
“Both other cities in Colombia and other countries have already expressed interest in replicating activities such as schools for men of care,” Murrain Knudson said happily. “Of course we are optimistic. We are working on a cultural change.”
Source: Biobiochile
