Transforming Masculinities Implementation Guide

"Faith leaders can be transformative agents for change within faith communities when they are equipped and empowered to break the silence on SGBV [sexual and gender-based violence] and gender inequality."

This implementation guide was developed to support the scale-up of Transforming Masculinities (TM), an evidence-based, gender-transformative approach that empowers faith communities to promote positive masculinities and gender equality as a means of preventing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The intervention has been developed, refined, and adapted since Tearfund first piloted it in 2015; as of this writing, TM is being implemented in 12 countries across Africa, Asia, and South America. This guide is intended to support those interested in implementing the standard form of TM, or the adapted versions, to enable higher quality, more effective, and meaningful programming. It was prepared by Tearfund, in partnership with the Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University, under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Passages Project.

The guide provides step-by-step support in each of the following areas:

• Section one: Preparation - provides guidance on how to know if TM work is right for your organisation at this time, how to engage and enter the community, how to set up support structures, and what staffing and budget considerations you will need to think through to prepare for this work.
• Section two: Implementation - takes you through the steps of the TM process, the implementation of which requires a minimum of 12 months and ideally 18-36 months:
  1. Engaging and training faith leaders
  2. Identifying, training and supporting Gender Champions
  3. Facilitating community dialogues
  4. Diffusion of messaging into the broader community
• Section three: Monitoring, evaluation and learning [MEL] - explains why you should prioritise MEL in your work, how to set up a MEL framework for TM, and what content on core indicators and processes Tearfund recommends using.
• Section four: Adaptation - offers background information on each of the five TM adaptations and considerations for deciding if these are appropriate for the communities you intend to work with. The adaptations include: (i) family planning: Masculinité, Famille, et Foi (MFF - see Related Summaries, below); (ii) family planning and inter-religious relationships: Masculinities, Faith, and Peace (MFP); women's economic empowerment (WEE); (iv) female genital mutilation/cutting(FGM/C); and (v) TM in humanitarian contexts and emergency responses.
• Section five: Scaling up - explores things to consider when planning to scale up TM and how to maintain the integrity of the programme, featuring a case study on one adaptation, MFF: Scaling and Sustaining Transforming Masculinities with the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) in Kinshasa, DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo].
• Section six: Way forward - guides you on where to look for support, how to connect with other TM implementers, and where to share your success and learning as you implement this approach.

Appendices include:

• Appendix A: Training agendas and slides
• Appendix B: Journey to healing
• Appendix C: Sample safeguarding policy
• Appendix D: GBV referral pathway
• Appendix E: Budget template
• Appendix F: Monitoring, evaluation and learning tools

The guide is to be used alongside direct support from Tearfund, which has offered to provide the necessary training and orientation to the TM approach.