Paulo Baleinakorodawa – Fiji Islands

This training on Gender Sensitive Active Non Violence has been a transformative experience for me. As a man coming from a very patriarchal society, I have been socialized to see women as inferior and powerless. Violence in its many forms – from subtle to physical violence - is often seen as the only possible way to solve problems resulting in women becoming victims of violent behaviours of men.
That socialization process has shaped by behaviour and attitudes towards women. Though I have made, in my personal and professional life, small steps to change my worldview and my behaviour towards women, I often still find myself falling back in these ‘old behavioural patterns’.
This training is the start of a new socialization process for me. I am strengthened by the feeling of vulnerability I experience as I begin to make the shift and commit myself to behaving in positive masculine way, rather than conforming to dominant violent masculine behaviour that is currently the norm.
The new journey I am embarking on towards a more gendered sensitive non violent man is a good challenge for a real man. Training and convincing men and boys to adopt gender-sensitive active non violence as a way of life and the most constructive way to resolve conflicts are certainly going to be major challenges. But in the words of Gandhi, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you then you win.”
Gender sensitive active non violence is a way of life that promotes equality of women and men and actively responds to situations of inequality and injustices.