[Pemv-net] Response to Building a Big Tent (from Howard Taylor)

[pemv-net@communityforum.net]

How can men provide leadership in this area without usurping women's
leadership?

Keep the focus on men's violence.  The problem is very large.=20
Leadership is need at all levels and in all areas.  Maybe after some =
time we
may need to be concerned about usurping women's leadership, but not now. =
 It
will be a great problem to have more leadership than we need.

How can we expand the number of men who, while not public leaders, can
nonetheless see themselves as empowered bystanders who can confront =
abusive
peers?=20

Develop male role models in sports, military, politics and =
entertainment.
Publicize them and get them to come out repeatedly. Create an image of
powerful men that do not use violence.

How else can we bring into the big tent new and diverse constituencies =
of
men and women, including men's organizations not known for their =
advocacy
around the issues of men's violence? =20

Document the costs of men's violence and educate, educate, educate.=20
Role models will help create a bandwagon effect, so that other =
organizations
will want to be a part.

What are the costs and benefits of engaging new partners who might or =
might
not have the depth of experience or the ideological affinities of the
majority of women and men currently in the movement?

Keep the mission and advocacy simple, clear and consistent (e.g., =
reducing
male violence towards women and children).  Resist expanding the mission =
to
include goals of other organizations to get their participation.  There =
are
many worthwhile goals that are consistent and adjacent, but including =
them
may create problems for other coalition partners, and may siphon =
valuable
resources away from the prime mission.

What are some of the compromises necessary in order to broaden the=20
coalition of stakeholders?

Howard Taylor