International Men and Gender Survey (IMAGES) – Bolivia

Between November 2017 and December 2021, Equimundo (Formerly Promundo-US) with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA), implemented a multi-year, multiphase program to prevent violence against women and increase engaged fatherhood and caregiving in Bolivia.

The project’s overarching goal was to build national awareness on the connections between violence against women and girls and harmful gender norms and masculinities, as well as to promote and implement evidenced-based strategies to transform roles and relations, prevent violence and increase gender equality and equitable caregiving.

The project worked to address rates of violence and gender inequality by engaging in three key activities:

Research: Building the research to strengthen the evidence base on issues of gender and masculinities via the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES)

Training: Strengthening civil society capacities to engage men and boys via the National Training Initiative

Initiatives: Promoting health and equity in families and communities by developing and scaling up programmatic approaches via Program H and Program P

WHY A SURVEY ON GENDER AND MASCULINITIES IN BOLIVIA?

Compared to other Latin American countries, Bolivia ranks poorly in key indicators on violence against women and children, as well as men’s participation in unpaid care work. Prior research indicates that, in Bolivia:

• 53% of Bolivian women ages 15-49 have suffered physical or sexual intimate partner violence (WHO, 2018)
• Women spend 4X more time on unpaid work than men (World Bank, 2015)
• 21% of women ages 15+ have suffered physical intimate partner violence in the last year (GiZ & INE, 2016)
• 4 out of 5 women & 3 out of 4 men use harsh corporal punishment against children (ENDSA, 2008)

While these issues are all rooted in inequitable gender norms, they are seldom examined using a gender-transformative lens or with the understanding that engaging men is the key to change. The IMAGES Survey helps shed light on just that.

Learn more about IMAGES Bolivia here.