Workbook for Young Men on Violence and Masculinities

SANAM, the South Asian Network to Address Masculinities, is a group of NGO’s, academics, and activists who believe that the toxicity of masculinities needs to be challenged if the world is to become a more peaceful place.

SANAM, together with Breakthrough India, developed this workbook for young and adolescent men between the ages of 18-24 years. It strives to generate critical self-reflection on the processes embedded in daily routines that are reinforced by religious and legal institutions in society. Once this foundation is built, the workbook approaches the concept of violence and how it is perpetuated in societies where children grow up surrounded by violence and where it is acceptable and even expected.

The final sections ask the questions: how can we impact our own peer groups to generate a climate of non-violence?; what are alternatives for dealing with conflict situations in a non-violent way?

The video “The Desirable Man” is intended to accompany the first chapter of the workbook.