Engaging Men, Boys & Couples in Gender-Transformative SRHR

Patriarchal norms and entrenched gender inequalities prevalent in large parts of Rajasthan, India, shapes adolescent socialisation, where toxic masculinities normalize violence and constrain opportunities for both boys and girls. While progressive state policies exist, interventions have largely focused on girls' empowerment, leaving the gendered subjectivities of boys underexplored. 
This paper examines a gender-transformative initiative co-created by UNICEF with government departments, and feminist organisations, which focused on  boys aged 11–14 through structured collectives. The initiative employed experiential pedagogy-dialogue, theatre, games, and digital media – by engaging adolescent boys, parents, community, schools, duty bearers, and media to foster intergenerational dialogue and social legitimacy. Visible attitudinal shifts included: sharp decline in acceptance of violence against women; increased rejection of rigid household roles; and silent bystander behaviour was markedly lower among participants (Jatan Sansthan, 2025). Parents and schools reported improved communication, respect, and reduced bullying, suggesting relational transformations beyond the boys' collectives. The findings underscore the importance of engaging boys as allies in dismantling patriarchal norms, while situating masculinity within intersecting axes of social disadvantage. 
The paper highlights the sociological potential of embedding positive masculinities within systemic structures, and demonstrates that scalable, state-led, and community-owned models can catalyze durable transformations toward gender-equitable futures. It illustrates how aligning micro-level attitudinal shifts with macro-level institutional reform, enhances  policy-level advocacy. The results led to major shifts with policy level advocacy informing the integration of gender-transformative approaches into state programmes.

Results of the pilot project suggest that the pilot was effective at encouraging couples' communication around family planning. This was woven into the participatory approach taken by the pilot activities, through the inclusion of joint dialogues involving the men and women's development army participants. At the end of the pilot, more than 8 out of 10 (82%) of all those participating in the sessions had discussed FP with their spouse during the six months prior. This was much higher than the indicative results collected at baseline, which suggested only 4% had been discussing FP.
More open discussion of family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) supports joint family planning decision-making. Post-pilot, participants were universally positive about their own shared decision-making on key topics, and equally positive about how joint-decision making is regarded in their community. While attitudes towards joint FP decision making were high in the indicative baseline, strong agreement increased post-pilot (from 25% to 68% with men and women participants equally positive).
Improved couples' communication and attitudes towards to joint-decision making likely contributed to an increase participants visiting their local health facility (43% vs 16% at baseline). Overall, the training provided to HEW workers was successful in equipping them to support the pilot's activities and ensure gender responsive service delivery. Results suggest that for HEWs to play a greater role in addressing gender norms (and to expand on the initial impact achieved on this topic) they would likely need further training.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} India, home to the largest youth population, has invested considerable effort in improving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) among young people ages 18 to 24 years. As in many locations, these efforts have historically prioritized young women due to SRH vulnerabilities, often overlooking young men's SRH necessities and challenges. With young people constantly online, mass media acts as a "sexual super peer," exposing them to sexual content across digital media platforms, like social media and online games. While existing research links media exposure to early sexual initiation and risky sexual behaviors, most evidence comes from high-income countries, focuses on isolated media platforms, and rarely considers men exclusively. This study addresses this critical need for a context-specific understanding of how young men's sexual content exposure across digital media platforms shapes their SRH outcomes through a mixed-method study among young men ages 18 to 21 years in Delhi, India. The study aims to: 1. explore how 20 men use digital media to access and engage with SRH content; 2. adapt and validate a contextually relevant digital media character-based exposure measure among 200 men; 3. examine associations between the media exposure measure and condom use knowledge, attitudes, normative beliefs, self-efficacy, intention, and behavior among those men. At the SBCC summit, we will reveal the findings, along with the validated measure to assess digital media sexual exposure in a middle-income country's context.

Pre-conception Care (PCC) is essential for maternal and child health, yet in rural India it remains constrained by early conception pressures, unplanned pregnancies, and persistent gender norms that position PCC as a women-only concern. Traditionally framed as family planning, PCC interventions have overlooked men's roles, reinforcing inequities and limiting impact.
To address these gaps, KHPT embedded a Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) strategy within the health system and local governance structures. Eligible Couples' Day (EC Day) was institutionalized at peripheral health centres, where newly married couples engaged in Family-Focused Communication (FFC), SBCC sessions using an dialogue-based interactive gameboard, and physical/mental health screenings. Frontline workers reinforced messages during household visits, while local self-governments sustained male engagement through mid-media campaigns such as rallies, posters, and audio jingles.
More than 100 EC Days reached over 1,200 couples. Male participation, initially absent, rose to 30% after introducing the gameboard. Qualitative insights revealed shifts in couple communication and male attitudes, with men reporting greater support for their partners during pre-conception, pregnancy, delivery and parenting. Women highlighted improved decision-making on spacing and nutrition, attributing it to the group SBCC held during EC Days.
This experience underscores that excluding men from PCC is not only a service delivery gap but also a norm-driven communication challenge. By combining participatory SBCC, governance ownership, and health service delivery, the initiative demonstrated that male engagement is both feasible and transformative, offering a scalable model for strengthening PCC and early childhood outcomes.