In the words of Gerhard Hafner: Making Gender Equality a Personal Commitment

In 1970s West Germany, in the wake of a new feminist awakening, women founded innovative projects, such as women’s shelters. Some men sensed that men must change as well and exit traditional masculinities. As a young man in my twenties, I met several men who established a consciousness raising group in West Berlin. We were unsatisfied with the traditional roles of our fathers – because of their positions both in the family and in German history. Under the slogan “the personal is political“, we studied our emotions, our relationships with women and the structure of our patriarchal society. Finally, we didn’t want to remain a small group; so, some of us founded a men’s center to confront traditional behaviors and develop alternative roles.

Personally, I focused on gender studies and masculinity studies and recognized violent behaviors as the core of male dominance. Therefore, I founded a special men’s counseling service focused on social training for male perpetrators of domestic violence. This project works in close case management with women’s counselling services. Moreover, it cooperates with courts, public prosecutors, police, youth welfare departments etc. in Berlin. My commitment centers on the serious consequences for children when their mother experiences violence. The traumatic experiences harm daughters and sons tremendously, increasing their risk of picking up the roles of a victim or a perpetrator. But violence should not be passed down through generations. “Educate your sons!” - this aim is crucial for the work with fathers and men in general. My special concerns as a psychologist are quality management for the work with perpetrators and the development of effective responses for male violence in society. On the Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25th, I am involved in multiple campaigns together with women’s orga­ni­za­tions. One of these is the Orange the World campaign, coordinated by UN Women.

Within my work with men, focusing on the connection between hege­mo­nic masculinity and violence is a central topic. In the HeForShe Solidarity Movement by UN Women, supported by UN Women Germany, our team of five voluntary HeForShe Germany advocates addresses men of all ages and backgrounds. We aim to make men understand that equality between all genders requires their sustained commitment and encourage them to take a critical look at their privileges. We emphasize that it is important for men to think outside the box to raise awareness of structural nature of discrimination in society and look at gender equality in an intersectional way. The move away from traditional masculinity also benefits men directly, as it offers them more diverse opportunities to enrich their lives.