MenEngage Africa

What MenEngage Africa Is

MenEngage Africa (MEA) is one of six continental members of the global MenEngage Alliance — an international network of organisations that engage men and boys to advance gender equality, promote health, reduce violence, and dismantle the structural barriers that perpetuate gender injustice. Globally, the Alliance brings together more than 700 organisations in over 70 countries.

Within Africa, MEA coordinates 22 country networks spanning East, West, Central, and Southern Africa, representing more than 350 civil society organisations working at grassroots, national, and regional levels. It is the largest regional MenEngage Alliance network in the world.

The Secretariat of MenEngage Africa is hosted by Sonke Gender Justice — one of South Africa's most prominent GBV and gender transformation organisations, based in Cape Town and Johannesburg. This makes South Africa the operational hub of the African network's continental work.

What MenEngage Africa Does

Thematic Focus MEA members work collectively on five core thematic areas: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR); GBV prevention and response; Child Rights and Positive Parenting; HIV prevention; and the promotion of peace on the continent. Across all these areas, the unifying approach is engaging men and boys — not as passive recipients of change, but as active agents in challenging patriarchy, transforming masculinities, and supporting women's rights.

Advocacy MEA conducts policy advocacy at national level with member country governments, at regional level with Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as the African Union, SADC, and ECOWAS, and at international levels including the United Nations. The network uses collective voice to influence legislation, policy, and public discourse on gender equality and GBV.

MenEngage Africa Training Initiative (MATI) MATI is MEA's flagship capacity-building programme — a short, intensive residential training course run in partnership with universities (including Makerere University's School of Women and Gender Studies) to build the skills, knowledge, and leadership of gender justice advocates across sub-Saharan Africa. MATI brings together religious and cultural leaders, young feminist leaders, and young men to analyse unequal power structures and develop practical approaches to GBV prevention, SRHR, and social justice. Completed cohorts have addressed topics including transforming masculinities, feminist peace, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, and the Youth Peace and Security (YPS) agenda.

Interfaith Engagement MEA has invested significantly in dialogue between religious leaders and LGBTQIA+ communities — recognising that faith structures often both legitimise GBV and command deep trust within communities where GBV occurs. These dialogues are designed to shift religious leaders from gatekeepers of harmful norms to advocates for dignity and justice.

Positive Masculinities and Men's Mental Health MEA's member and partner organisations have engaged with South Africa's alarming male suicide rates as part of its broader men's wellbeing and gender justice work — convening "Moments with Men" national campaigns and its Generation Gender South African Coalition to address the intersection of toxic masculinity, mental health crisis, and gender-based violence.

South African Country Network

South Africa is not only MEA's Secretariat home — it has an active country network with member organisations working on masculinity transformation, GBV prevention, HIV, fatherhood, and youth engagement across South African provinces. Sonke Gender Justice leads and anchors this South African engagement within the continental framework.

Relevance to GBV Survivors

MenEngage Africa is not a crisis service. It will not answer a helpline call or provide shelter. Its work is long-arc and structural — changing the conditions that generate violence rather than providing the emergency response that violence requires. For a survivor who wants to understand the broader landscape of efforts to prevent GBV by engaging men and boys, or for organisations wanting to connect with the continental and global field of masculinity transformation work, MEA is the key resource and network. For practitioners and academics working on GBV in South Africa, the MATI programme and MEA's resource library represent significant capacity-building opportunities.

MenEngage Africa Alliance: Secretariat hosted by Sonke Gender Justice, South Africa. Website: menengageafrica.org. 22 country networks, 350+ member organisations, pan-African reach.