Men, Masculinity and
Democracy Project

Uruguay
Contact: Carlos Guida
Tel: (598) 2-712-3501
Email: cdguida@adinet.com.uy

The Men, Masculinity and Democracy Project in Montevido is ushering in a change in the way Uruguayan men use — and abuse — their masculinity. Our project promotes inter- and intra-gender democratic practices, not only in the personal sphere but also at the institutional and community levels.

Uruguay is a male dominated society where men have created authoritarian rules in everyday life. Social and familial structures based on dominant male and submissive female stereotypes are the norm. Domestic and sexual violence, often leading to deaths, increased dramatically in the 1990s — a direct repercussion of attitudes and behavior associated with "machismo." Studies conducted by the Interamerican Bank of Development and the Uruguayan ministry of the interior report that 40 out of every 100 persons living in the Montevideo metropolitan area are affected in some way by gender violence, with the victims being mainly women, girls and boys.

The core strategy of our work has been to target, and work with, several layers of society in order to transform behavior patterns. This includes the government in particular, civil society in general, and individuals. This last group comprise men from different backgrounds who are culturally and institutionally more resistant to changing their sexist, authoritarian behavior — such as the military, the police force, and underprivileged youth. However, this pattern cuts across all Uruguayan social classes as well.

We blend advocacy work — that includes national-level campaigns — with counseling, seminars, and workshops that address issues of masculinity, gender equality, and domestic violence. Our target populations are reached through universities, NGOs, the National Congress, the Ministry of Health, and through international organizations like the Pan-American Health Organization and the Interamerican Bank of Development.

Our achievements in the field of domestic violence have been very rewarding. In 2001, we lobbied the government for the inclusion of gender issues in laws, and formulated a bill on domestic violence and child abuse. The Act came into being in July 2002.

In our bid to reshape health and education policies, our workshops and advocacy work with several key national institutions and departments including the Infants, Adolescents and Family At-Risk Program, the Ministry of Health, and The Ministry of the Interior, are showing positive results. The Ministry of Health is already changing its policies to target men in their sex education drive, and is pushing home male responsibility and participation in childcare and reproductive processes such as birth control.

Three years ago, when we started our project, nobody was taking about gender and masculinity issues in Uruguay. Today, it is a buzzword.

As we look ahead, one of our priorities is to work with NGOs in other counties. Even though our program was born in Montevideo, the national Capital, we have realized that public policies and programs revolve around urban centers. At the moment, we are concentrating on expanding our reach to other counties and rural areas of Uruguay.