No Means No for boys and men

NACOSA is excited to be launching our first No Means No training programme for boys and men. No Means No Worldwide is an international sexual violence prevention organization whose mission is to end sexual and gender-based violence against women and children globally. The workshops provide knowledge and strategies that end the cycle of violence by teaching girls to set boundaries, stand up and defend themselves, and boys to challenge rape culture, ask for consent and intervene in attacks.

No Means No Boys and Men workshops will be implemented by Childline Gauteng, Childline North West, Amandla Development and Hope Africa with 1,120 boys and men between 10 and 24 as part of the My Journey programme, funded by the Global Fund. NACOSA will start training 16 male Instructors this week, with the first workshops planned for September.

No Means No engages both girls and boys which creates a culture of mutual respect that drives generational change. NACOSA has been successfully implementing No Means No for girls and women since October 2019 because it is an evidence-based approach that works to empower young women. According to one participant:

Being shy made me an easy target because I was bullied and I was not able to speak for myself, and if I was attacked I would have done everything the attacker tells me to do. Now I am not an easy target, I can be able to fight for myself and I know I’m worth defending. – Tsaki, No Means No Girls and Women participant

We are confident that the workshops for boys and men will have similar results and help us to collectively turn the tide on gender based violence in South Africa.