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In this edition of the newsletter, BCN and the MenCare Campaign highlight the recently launched State of the World's Fathers report, along with other research and resources relevant
to men and fathers as caregivers.
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"I started to see and feel: 'Something is about to change.' Then my child started to talk a lot to me. A lot. And he noticed I was listening. Now I try to show my son the love, attention and care that I lacked from my own father."
- Yusuf, Turkey, from State of the World's Fathers 2015 p 36
"My father has given me the opportunity to discuss everything with him and he also shares everything about his life with me."
- Adolescent girl, India, from State of the World's Fathers 2015 p 41
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As the evidence from the first State of the World's Fathers report and the other resources in this special issue demonstrates, men play a key role in children's care as fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, and caregivers more broadly. Men's positive, non-violent participation in the care of children has been shown to have a lasting impact on children's development, health and well-being as well as on the health and well-being of women and men themselves. Engaging boys and men in caregiving can help to prevent violence against women and children and to promote gender equality and child rights. Involved fathers and caregivers can also be a source of support for their partners, enhancing the care provided to children.
The participation of boys, men and fathers in caregiving is a critical issue for those working to strengthen family care and support appropriate alternative care. This special issue of the BCN newsletter, published jointly with MenCare, highlights some of the recent research, tools, and advocacy initiatives related to supporting men as caregivers for children, in the hope that those working in the field of children's care and child rights may draw from the learning presented here.
Florence Martin
Director, Better Care Network
Gary Barker
International Director, Promundo, MenCare Co-Coordinator
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The first-ever State of the World's Fathers report, produced by the MenCare Campaign, a global fatherhood campaign, provides a periodic, data-driven snapshot of the state of boys' and men's contributions to caregiving and parenting globally. The report draws evidence from hundreds of studies and addresses four issues related to fatherhood: unpaid care work in the home; sexual and reproductive health and rights, and maternal, newborn and child health; men's caregiving and violence against children and against women; and child development.
Around 80 percent of the world's men and boys will become fathers in their lifetime, and virtually all boys and men have at least some connection to children in caregiving relationships. Fathers matter deeply to child development, and they are as biologically hard-wired to provide care as mothers are. Yet, women continue to spend, on average, between 2 and 10 times longer caring for a child (or older person) than men do. The State of the World's Fathers defines a global agenda for involving men and boys as part of the solution to achieve gender equality and positive outcomes in the lives of children, women, and men themselves.
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UNVEILING THE STATE OF THE WORLD'S FATHERS 2015 LAUNCH EVENT
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The State of the World's Fathers 2015 Report was launched on 16 June 2015 at several events across the globe, including in Stockholm, London, Washington DC, Geneva, and Nairobi, as well as at an event at the UN Headquarters in New York. The New York event brought together several speakers and panelists, including Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, who delivered the opening remarks, and Kate Gilmore, Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, who delivered the keynote address (filling in for Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, who was unable to attend).
The event focused on the importance of men's caregiving, and its benefits for women, children and men themselves. Speakers stressed that full gender equality would not be realized without men's uptake of 50 percent of the childcare and domestic work. "Encouraging men to be good fathers is vital," said Kate Gilmore, who also called the event, "historic." Speakers, including Chelsea Clinton, also discussed the need for paid, non-transferable, paternity leave policies worldwide.
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 Photos of the event, including a photo of the speakers and report team, courtesy of UNFPA's Ania Gruca |
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This video was launched alongside the first ever State of the World's Fathers report, produced by the MenCare Campaign. The video features interviews with fathers, mothers, and children discussing: men as caregivers, men's roles in supporting their children's mothers, the sharing of parenting responsibilities, the need for better employment leave policies for fathers, the importance of fathers' involvement in their children's lives, and the joys of fatherhood.
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STATE OF THE WORLD'S FATHERS
CHILD RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE REPORT 2015
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This report was developed by Save the Children to accompany the State of the World's Fathers 2015 report, produced by MenCare. The State of the World's Fathers report (SOWF) examines data, policies, programs, and research related to boys and men's participation in caregiving and fatherhood, as well as their contributions to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), and violence prevention. This Child Rights Perspective report is an excerpt of the main SOWF report, highlighting the content from the main report that is related to children's rights and gender equality. This report outlines a global advocacy agenda aimed at: engaging boys and men more equally in unpaid care-work throughout the life-cycle, promoting gender equality, and achieving other positive outcomes in the lives of girls, boys, and young people, as well as fathers themselves.
Read the full report here.
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OTHER RESOURCES RELATED TO FATHERS
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Strategies for Engaging Fathers |
Fathers Matter: Involved Fathers Change the Lives of Children
This leaflet is a mapping of Save the Children's role and work in promoting the engagement of fathers. It presents some of the evidence of the benefits of involving fathers and some of the strategies used by the organization and others.
Program P: A Manual for Engaging Men in Fatherhood, Caregiving, and Maternal and Child Health
The Program P Manual is a resource developed as part of the global MenCare campaign that identifies best practices on engaging men in maternal and child health, caregiving, and preventing violence against women and children, through the lens of gender equality. Though the main focus of Program P is to engage men via the public health sector, the manual also provides tools and resources for individuals and organizations that want to work more generally with men as caregivers and fathers.
Regional Capacity Building Workshop on Men, Caring and Fatherhood: Engaging Men as Partners in Healthier Families
This report captures the discussions and activities from a regional workshop held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 17-19 October 2005 on engaging men as caregivers. The report presents a background and rationale, the expectations and objectives of the workshop, and an overview of work being done to engage fathers both in the region as well as globally.
BARN: Fathers Matter!
Barn is a magazine about children's rights published by Save the Children Sweden with four issues per year. This issue is focused on the role of fathers in children's well-being and development and includes the voices of children discussing what makes a good father.
Practitioner Review: Engaging Fathers - Recommendations for a Game Change in Parenting Interventions Based on a Systematic Review of the Global Evidence
In this study, the researchers conducted a systematic database and a thematic hand search of the global literature on parenting interventions in order to gather and assess the evidence on father participation and impact in parenting interventions. This article presents the results of the study and identifies three key priorities for successfully engaging fathers.
How Save the Children Can Transform the Role of Fathers and Improve the Lives of Children. A Report to Save the Children
This paper highlights the importance of promoting active fatherhood in achieving Save the Children's goals. The paper suggests that engaging fathers in caregiving and building stronger relationships with their children can help to better protect and meet the needs of children.
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A Look at Men as Caregivers
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Men Who Care: A Multi-Country Qualitative Study of Men in Non-Traditional Caregiving Roles
The Men Who Care report is a five-country (Brazil, Chile, India, Mexico, and South Africa) study that explores the topic of men who are involved in non-traditional forms of care work. These men are described as engaging in care beyond what is traditional among their male peers, including men in the role of primary caregivers for children.
Should Researchers Conceptualize Differently the Dimensions of Parenting for Fathers and Mothers?
This article asks whether researchers should seek separate conceptualizations of fathers' and mothers' parenting behaviors. The researchers find that there is not sufficient evidence to conclude that the constructs of fathering and mothering are unique.
Examining the Intersections between Child Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence
In this editorial, the authors outline four specific gaps in evidence on the connections between intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment (CM) and present an integrated framework for moving the field forward with respect to the intersection of IPV and CM.
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ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTNERS
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The State of the World's Fathers report was produced by MenCare, a global fatherhood campaign active in more than 30 countries on five continents. The Campaign's mission is to promote men's involvement as equitable, non-violent fathers and caregivers in order to achieve family well-being, gender equality, and better health for mothers, fathers, and children. The aim is for men to be allies in supporting women's social and economic equality, in part by taking on more responsibility for childcare and domestic work. MenCare is coordinated by Promundo and Sonke Gender Justice in collaboration with its steering committee: the MenEngage Alliance, Save the Children, and Rutgers.
A Spotlight on a few additional organizations and partners working with and for fathers and their families:
- The Fatherhood Institute: The Fatherhood Institute is the UK's fatherhood think-and-do-tank. The Fatherhood Institute's vision is a society that gives all children a strong and positive relationship with their father and any father-figures; supports both mothers and fathers as earners and carers; and prepares boys and girls for a future shared role in caring for children.
- Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) Project: The Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) Project is committed to the enhancement and strengthening of services to children and families in the United States through supporting the involvement of appropriate fathers in their lives. SFI is a project of Strategies, a nationally recognized alliance of experienced trainers, organizational development coaches, facilitators, and support staff providing training, coaching, facilitation, and technical assistance for community-based organizations, county agencies, and networks in the United States.
- MenCare's Regional and National-Level Partners: Through media campaigns, program development, and advocacy, MenCare works with partners across the globe, in over 30 countries, to engage men as caregivers and fathers. This page lists MenCare's partner organizations by region and country.
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