In what is considered a milestone in the fight against gender-based violence, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Philippines-based Coalition Against Trafficking in Women- Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) conducted the first ever all-male youth workshop on gender sensitivity in Thailand on May 9-10. Of those who applied for slots, 30 university students from Bangkok were selected to participate. CATW-AP executive director Jean Enriquez talks to IPS about the significance and impact of the workshop on changing the misconceptions of men about women and helping put a stop to violence against women.

Like all forms of abuse, ending violence against women is as much men’s fight as it is women’s. It’s a good thing some members of the opposite sex are taking on this challenge.

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The Blackhawk helicopter flies fast and relatively high above an endless expanse of hills, some gentle and rolling, some with sharp peaks, in this southernmost tip of Thailand, where an insurgency has been raging for over five years.