Founded in 1997, Promundo was born out of frustration with the prevailing discourses about gender equality and efforts to put those discourses into action, practice and policy. The institute has concentrated on developing evaluated interventions and advocacy strategies to achieve gender equality with a focus on engaging men and boys in changing inequitable and violent forms of masculinities. Promundo works locally, nationally, and internationally to:
Conduct research to build the knowledge base on masculinities and gender equality;
Develop, evaluate and scale up gender transformative interventions and policies;
Carry out national and international advocacy to achieve gender equality and social justice.
Promundo designs, implements, and evaluates its research and evidence-based programs in close partnership with local, not-for-profit Civil Society Organizations. In recent years, Promundo has been increasingly recognized for promoting the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality. Most recently, Promundo expanded its presence to Washington, DC, to support the organization’s international communication, advocacy and technical assistance, which include the coordination of the , a global network of NGOs and UN partners working to engage men and boys in gender equality, of which Promundo was a co-founder.
Main Programs and Activities
Program H
In 1999 Promundo, together with , , and , with support from the Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization, , and developed the Program H. The material was born in part of extensive community-based research, including the study Dying to be Men: Youth, Masculinity and Social Exclusion. Program H seeks to engage young men and their communities in critical reflections about rigid norms related to manhood. It includes group educational activities, community campaigns, and an innovative evaluation model, called Gender-Equitable Men or GEM scale, for assessing the program’s impact on gender-related attitudes. The approach was subjected to quasi-experimental impact evaluation studies in Brazil, India, the Balkans and several settings in Sub-Saharan Africa, and found to lead to significant changes in attitudes among young men, in addition to self-reported increases in condom use, increased in couple communication and reductions in men’s reports of use of violence against female partners. Program H has been acknowledged by the Pan American Health Organization, UNICEF, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations as a best practice in promoting gender equality.
Program M
In 1999 Promundo in partnership with , Instituto Papai, Salud y Género and , with the support of the , the , the and the developed Program M. Program M seeks to promote the health and empowerment of young women through critical reflections about gender, rights and health. It consists of educational workshops, community campaigns and innovative evaluation instruments for assessing the program’s impact on young women’s gender-related attitudes and perceived self-efficacy in interpersonal relationships.
In 2000 Promundo, Instituto Papai and other partner organizations launched the White Ribbon Campaign in Brazil. Promundo also works together and the to start one of Brazil’s first batterer intervention programs, which eventually inspired the Brazilian Federal Government to implement such programs in other states.
Video Against Homophobia
Because attitudes towards homophobia showed the least amount of attitude change in the study impact evaluation in Brazil, in 2005 Promundo, Ecos, Salud y Género, Papai and the other Program H partners, with support from the , developed a cartoon video called Afraid of What? as a complementary educational tool focusing specifically on the issue of homophobia, and targeting mostly heterosexual youth.
Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality
Between March 30 and April 3, 2009, Promundo and partners co-hosted the Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality in Rio de Janeiro. The event brought together 439 activists, researchers, and practitioners from 77 countries to share their experiences in challenging rigid gender norms and engaging men and boys in: reducing violence against women and girls; promoting sexual and reproductive health; HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; and fatherhood and care-giving. The event was organized in collaboration with the MenEngage Alliance.
