Haiti's Nurses
by MVS | June 29, 2010 at 9:54 AM
As I read this article about ending gender-based violence - the timing couldn't be more perfect. I want to tell you about what the young student nurses of Leogane, Haiti have just been discussing in their public health nursing class this morning - a class that I am here teaching: There are 5 men and 17 women in this class.
We asked the men to give us their ideas about how men can help to reach the MDG of gender equality - specifically - to curb the violence against women here in Haiti - violence that has taken a dramatic up-swing since 1/12/2010.
A bright young Haitian man, Armand Marah, offers his suggestions:
*Men should educate other men about why it is bad to hurt women - about the bad effect it has on children and women, and how it is bad for them
*Men should show by example - show respect and be good to women
*Men should protect women
*Men should join-in with women in groups and organizations and with politics - it should not be just women who work to stop it
Simple, eloquent and powerful ideas that apply to us all.
To learn more about the school of nursing here in Leogane - please visit the Haiti Nursing Foundation at www.haitinursing.org (I do not work for them - I am here as a volunteer)...Thank you..
Michele
Nurses for Nurses International
http://nursesfornursesinternational.com
Comments
Your entry and Armand Marah's
Your entry and Armand Marah's words captivated such a strong and vital tool of any community that needs to place importance and change on issues such as GBV. That tool is communication that focuses not only on the problem but the solution. Remolding the ideas that shape tradition, such as women are second class citizens, is hard but can be done with bringing voices together, saying violence against women is just simply wrong. To have open dialogue on the issue creates a feeling of safety where men can talk about their feelings about the issues they have with GBV. I am curious, what other solutions came out of that meeting?
I hope you don't mind but I reposted your entry in the group Ending Gender Based Violence.
In friendship,
Carri Pence