Men Care: A Global Fatherhood Campaign

MenCare field tests its campaign messages on fatherhood in multiple contexts and multiple languages for personal appeal to men. MenCare local partners test local images and languages to adapt the messages for their settings. The MenCare website provides open-source, prototype messages and photos that can be used or adapted, and will feature and share messages and campaigns from campaigns around the world. The website encourages partners to select an image and slogan and modify them to suit the story they want to tell men, using a child's perspective and voice. MenCare encourages organisations to add a URL and logo most appropriate for their campaign - including the MenCare campaign logo and website if possible.

The ways that the Men Care campaign recommends to engage men as fathers and in caregiving include (each message is illustrated on a campaign poster, available by scrolling through this document [PDF format]:

• Engage men from the prenatal phase through childbirth, including public service messaging supporting men to begin by attending prenatal visits.
• Engage men in care work, including messaging on teaching boys how to do domestic chores and encouraging boys and men to take on a fair share, as well as advocating governments to expand both maternity and paternity leave.
• Disseminate through programme staff and the public information on the positive benefits to men themselves when men participate as involved and caring fathers.
• Engage men in child health, including the prevention of HIV transmission from pregnant women to their children, and educate men about how they can support their partner and take care of their own, their partners’ and their children’s health. This includes getting tested to know their HIV status and taking on household work that allows mothers time to breastfeed infants.
• Encourage playing with children because "[p]lay is necessary for children to develop motor skills, creativity and social skills and to grow and thrive physically....Through play, men connect and bond with children, developing sensitivity and responsiveness to children’s needs."
• Engage men as allies in their children’s education, including reading to children, following children’s school progress, and interacting with and knowing their children’s teachers, as well as reduce gender inequality by educating girls.
• Encourage men to show affection toward children - an advocacy role for health workers, women, teachers, and staff at early childhood programmes and youth programmes.
• Engage men in preventing violence against women and children and helping children recover from violence. "In terms of violence against women, engaging men to understand the effects of their violence on children as well as on women - whether the children witness the violence or not - is key to breaking cycles of gender-based violence. Fathers who experienced violence in their homes when they were growing up may need opportunities and support to talk about these experiences....Fathers can speak out to other men about sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, and about the oversexualization of children. Non-abusing fathers and men can be important support for children who have been sexually abused."
• See fathers as allies and role models for gender equality. "Studies also find that men who say their own fathers are involved in caregiving are themselves more likely to do so; and that girls with caregiving fathers are likely to expect, and obtain, such behavior from their partners."
• Encourage fathers' involvement when they don't live together with their children. Countries can legislate for more joint legal custody and can encourage fathers to register their paternity and commit to providing child support.

MenCare also has a Facebook presence: click here.

Children, Gender