This is one of the country’s first coordinated and strategic statewide approaches to deal with changing men’s and boys’ attitudes and beliefs about violence against women and girls.

How can you help? Action steps: Read what you and every man can do to help   Download a PDF version of Men's Action Steps from our "Call to Action, Part 1" report.   Come to a meeting of the Men's Initiative. Call our coordinator, Marc Kelley at (312) 577-2811 or email him at mkelley@cfw.org.

Materials Our page with materials to download on men's role in violence prevention Download a Men's Initiative fact sheet (PDF) Favorite links Activist and trainer Jackson Katz Filmmaker/activist Byron Hurt

• This is a change for the Foundation. Normally, all our programs and grants are aimed directly at women and girls. But we are willing to change as we are trying to bring about a great sea change in people’s thinking—and we know we will not be successful unless women and men all work together.
  
  
• For too long, men have not been considered allies in preventing gender-based violence. Asking them to be part of the movement is still relatively new. Yet, it is vital. Violence against women and girls is a problem that affects all of us. So, it is crucial that all of us work together to find diverse answers to the question: “What will it take to make Illinois the safest state for all women and girls?”
  
  
• Very often when people in the violence prevention community think of men, certain words come to mind—not always good: At worst, perpetrators and misogynists; but often just ignorant and apathetic about the problem. But we want men to be our allies in this effort.
  
  
• Too many men, well-intentioned and caring, still do not see themselves as part of the problem or the solution. They need to be involved.

Events

Like all of the work on this initiative, we want communities to take ownership. We also are not presuming to have all the answers since we are only beginning to ask the question. So, while the effort seems more like an outline—that is on purpose. We want the men working on the initiative to tell us what would work and what needs to happen to bring more men to the table.

• We held 11 events as part of the Men's Initiative.
• We officially kicked off the Men’s Initiative with a statewide call to action via videoconference on Jan. 17, 2007. Our keynote speaker was Tony Porter, an internationally-recognized leader in social justice, who heads up A Call to Men, a group that organizes and trains men to help stop gender-based violence. It was co-facilitated by members of Men Endorsing Nonviolence (MEN) in various regions.
• Local Action Teams of both men and women formed after the kickoff and continued to meet and develop strategies to get men involved in their communities.
• The 10 Town Hall meetings throughout the state featured members of the Local Action Teams, who will give updates on their work and encourage wider participation. 
• We sponsored an event at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign featuring a keynote speech by Jackson Katz, a nationally recognized expert on redefining masculinity and men’s treatment of women.
• We sponsored a special brainstorming session of 24 men from various professions and businesses who might not have ever thought that violence was an issue in their world. We spent an evening helping them develop innovative approaches.
• We sponsored the provocative panel discussion, "Art and Media: Do they cause violence against women and girls?"

For more information on the Men's Initiative,
contact Marc Kelley mkelley@cfw.org or 312.577.2811