The UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific

Partners for Prevention—on behalf of UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNV—coordinated the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific to generate knowledge on how masculinities relate to men’s perceptions and perpetration of gender-based violence, in order to prevent violence. 

The study methodology included:

• quantitative household surveys to understand the scale and scope of violence perpetration and the factors associated with this violence;
• qualitative life history interviews with more than 100 men who were known to have used violence and those who did not to explore how influences and experiences across a life span shape dominant and alternative masculinities; and
• gender politics of policy research to explore institutional factors and structural conditions which enable gender-based violence.

The UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific was a collaborative effort involving part­ners from academia, research institutes, civil soci­ety, UN agencies and governments.
 

Regional Quantitative Findings

On 10 September 2013, UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UN Volunteers, through the joint programme Partners for Prevention, released the regional quantitative findings, ‘Why Do Some Men Use Violence Against Women and How Can We Prevent It? Quantitative Findings from the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific’. 

From 2010 to 2013, over 10,000 men in six countries across Asia and the Pacific were interviewed using the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence household survey on men’s perpetration and experiences of violence, as well as men's other life experiences. The countries included were Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea. The study was a collaborative effort involving partners from academia, research institutes, civil society, the United Nations family and governments around the globe.  

The regional analysis found that overall nearly half of those men interviewed reported using physical and/or sexual violence against a female partner, ranging from 26 percent to 80 percent across the sites.  Nearly a quarter of men interviewed reported perpetrating rape against a woman or girl, ranging from 10 percent to 62 percent across the sites. 

The report further explores prevalence of different types of violence and the factors that drive men's use of violence. It makes important recommendations on how to use the data to more effectively prevent violence against women in Asia and the Pacific.
 

Download the regional report here.
Download the summary report here.
Download the presentation of findings here.