There is a need to focus specifically on the roles and impacts of men and boys on sanitation and hygiene (S&H). This edition of Frontiers of Sanitation looks at how to engage them effectively, how to mobilise them as allies in the transformation of S&H outcomes, and the problems they contribute to and experience.
Discussions of gender in S&H often focus on the roles of or impacts on women and girls. Such a focus is critical to improving the gendered outcomes of sanitation and hygiene programming, as women and girls bear the greatest burden of this type of work yet are often excluded from services and activities as they have less power, resources, time and status than their male peers.
Yet current efforts to improve S&H and change social norms may not always engage men and boys effectively. This resource builds on the learning from a desk study that explored examples of men’s and boys’ behaviours and gender roles in S&H. Of particular interest is the extent to which engaging men and boys in S&H processes is leading to sustainable and transformative change in households and communities and reducing gender inequality.
A three-page learning brief which summaries this resource is also available. Men and Boys in Sanitation: Learning Brief
