Good women bad women

Addressing violence in women's lives by examining social constructs of gender and sexuality within CARE

By: Magar V & Storer G
Published by: CARE, 2005
Via: Siyanda

Can we empower women and protect them simultaneously? Gender-equity and sexual health programmes often focus on women's vulnerability and need for protection. But this is only part of the equation - another aspect of women's sexuality concerns their sexual pleasure. CARE's country offices in Asia are taking steps to address sexuality and pleasure in community gender programmes with the aim of promoting women's agency rather than their victimhood. For example, the CARE Columbia Play Safe Project explores concepts of pleasure and sexuality in their youth reproductive health programmes. The project encourages young men to challenge dominant ideals of masculinity and acknowledge their potential contribution to promoting gender equity. In India and Vietnam, CARE staff use cartoons to challenge widely held ideas about the “female victim” and the “violent husband.” Through these initiatives, CARE aims to transform cultural values related to women and men's sexuality, to promote sexual practices that are safer within a context of choice, less violence, and greater agency among both women and men.