Announcements  ---  

On June 2nd, 2022 NAMEN held its signature  membership meetup initiative with fifteen  attendees actively participating in the event. As  the Covid pandemic has subsided, the  membership meet-up re-dux was deemed  critical by Board leadership, with the preliminary focus being re-introducing NAMEN and its mission to the  membership while engaging members in articulating their vision,  expertise and understanding of the membership meet-up and its  objective. 

With a myriad of issues on the horizon, this particular event highlighted a recent NAMEN policy survey conducted amongst  the general membership, with NAMEN administrator Craig Norberg-Bohm facilitating the presentation. Several key areas in  policy advocacy and support were discussed, critiquing the  survey findings which were expansive in areas ranging from targeted policy advocacy to specialized audience outreach.

After in-depth discussions regarding the policy survey findings, the  members articulated their recommendation that the survey be  provided for an additional time limit, thereby engaging a more  varied member population which may or may not have been  adequately represented in the data. In support of this request,  NAMEN has provided the link to the survey, encouraging All  members to participate in the data gathering process.

NAMEN Member Policy Advocacy Survey link

The next NAMEN meet up is scheduled for September 15th, 2022 3pm.

As a component of the NAMEN membership support strategy individual or organizational meetings throughout the months of June - August are available. To book an appointment go to  www.calendly/coachnamen.org

NAMEN is proud to officially announce the selection of Board of  Directors Co-chair Tonya Lovelace, whose expertise and commitment in  the field of Domestic Violence Prevention has received both national  and international recognition.

Tonya is a global intersectional leader with close to 37  years of experience as a community organizer and movement maker. She is the President and CEO of  Lovelace Consulting Services, Inc. (LCSI), and independent  consulting firm that provides high-level consulting, needs  assessment, facilitation, coaching, technical assistance and  training to individuals, organizations and systems seeking  social, political, and professional transformation.  

With an extensive background working in the field of nonprofit  organization management assisting local, state, national, Tribal,  corporate and government agencies, Tonya has become a noted  specialist in reaching those on the margins of the margins, dedicating  her career to ending violence against all genders and communities. In  addition, Tonya has worked with prolific organizations such as the  Women of Color Network Inc., a project under the National Resource  Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) and the Pennsylvania Coalition  Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) ascending to the position of  founding Chief Executive Officer while successfully leading fundraising  campaigns raising over $25 million thru federal, corporate, and  foundation funds.

As a public policy advocate, Tonya has participated in the National Task  Force to End Domestic and Sexual Violence (NTF) since 2005 and  served as the chair of the Underserved Committee for the 2013  Violence against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization, which included  “sexual orientation and gender identity” as a part of the updated  Underserved populations’ definition and a new $2 million grant for  Outreach and Services to Underserved Populations Program, and for  the 2022 VAWA Reauthorization, which increased the Underserved  Populations Grant program to $6 million. Attending four White House  VAWA celebrations alongside many other policy advocates, Tonya  recently was the guest of President Biden during the illustrious ceremony

(Photo take by Tonya Lovelace   2022 VAWA Reauthorization Celebration)

Joint Statement: Urgency for bold support to fundamental human rights and bodily autonomy of all women, girls, and people of diverse gender identities: A call to all men and boys to step up to support the fundamental human rights to bodily autonomy, dignity, and freedom for all women, girls, and individuals of diverse gender identities.

MenEngage Alliance

We, MenEngage Global Alliance and North American MenEngage Network (NAMEN) are deeply concerned about the prospect that rights already recognized, protected, and exercised by women, girls, trans and nonbinary people, in all their diversities and intersectionalities, in the United States of America might soon be revoked and denied to them. A draft opinion by the United States Supreme Court has come to light unexpectedly but is acknowledged by the Court as legitimate. If adopted, a potentially majority of the population of the country will no longer have the right to bodily autonomy and sovereignty – to make their own decisions over their own bodies and lives. It is appalling that the highest court in the country is even considering that women, girls, trans and nonbinary people may be stripped of their rights to liberty, dignity and freedom.

We express our support and solidarity to all who have expressed their outrage and continue to hope that the Supreme Court draft opinion will not move forward in its intention to do away with Roe vs. Wade, which for almost 50 years has protected a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. We further express our support for the decision reached by Roe vs. Wade in 1973, which put an end to unsafe abortions and saved many lives since then.

We further express our solidarity with all involved in the call for universal access to affordable, safe, and legal abortion. With ‘trigger laws’ in place in many States and with other significant undue burdens that already exist, revoking Roe vs. Wade would impact the lives of all people in the US and abroad, and as is often the case, disproportionately burden Black, Latin, Indigenous, and women of color, youth, LGBTIQ individuals, women of lower-income and in informal labor, further marginalizing and directly harming them.

We raise our voices today in supporting women’s right to safe and legal abortion. Together we reaffirm our position on supporting fundamental rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive rights for women and people who need it, and work to challenge laws and policies restricting the right and access to safe abortion and post-abortion care for everyone who needs them.

We call on all men and boys, especially men in positions of power and influence across institutions, to join us in the protection of access to safe and legal abortions. The right to privacy and the right to determine whether and when to carry a pregnancy to term and whether and when to become a parent are fundamental parts of women’s and trans and nonbinary people’s autonomy, and impact the lives and well-being of those around them. We know that for many men and boys – legal denial of the rights of women and girls and of those of diverse gender identities is appalling. Therefore, we urge them to express their outrage and to stand up for sexual and reproductive rights.

Each and every one of us can make autonomous decisions about our own bodies and lives, including decisions about pregnancy and abortion. We must challenge the norms, systems, and policies that create barriers to safe abortion and bodily autonomy.

We believe that no impediment should come between a pregnant person and their choice of whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term. Yet, many women and girls and trans and nonbinary people are currently not able to access the safe and legal abortion and the care they need globally. This decision will dramatically and dangerously impede these rights for much of the country. We recognize the disproportionate impact that will continue to fall on women of color, black, indigenous, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and nonbinary individuals, and youth communities living at these intersections and who are on the margins of the margins.

Men and boys must stand up and add their voices

At MenEngage Global Alliance and North American MenEngage Network (NAMEN),

• We believe that sexual and reproductive health and rights are not only women’s and trans and nonbinary people’s issues. They are issues for everyone and impact all of us.
• We commit to the critical task of centering and elevating the agency, voices, analysis, and demands of girls and women of color, black, indigenous, lesbian, gay, transgender, youth, and non-binary individuals who are at the margins of the margin to access to safe, affordable, legal abortion, and care.
• We call on men and boys to add their voices and take actions to protect access to safe and legal abortion and to speak up when they see violations of the human rights of women, girls, and people of diverse gender identities taking place, including their right to reproductive healthcare.
• We commit to supporting women’s and trans and nonbinary people’s fundamental human rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive rights and work on challenging laws and policies restricting the right and access to safe abortion and post-abortion care for everyone who needs them.
• We call upon all men and boys, in all diversities, to work as meaningful allies in ending this long-overdue existing control of women’s and trans and nonbinary people’s sexuality and reproduction.
• We commit to stand in solidarity and follow the leadership of feminist and SRHR leaders, especially Black and Indigenous, people of color and living at the intersections, in this joint national and global struggle.
• We commit to continue to stand up and against any policy that limits anyone, anywhere, to make autonomous decisions about our own bodies and lives including decisions about pregnancy and abortion.

We are appalled by this recent news and we hold ourselves accountable for taking part in the change we wish to see in the world.

Joint Statement:
28 September, International Safe Abortion Day

MenEngage Global Alliance and North American MenEngage Network

We, MenEngage Global Alliance and North American MenEngage Network (NAMEN), on the occasion of this 28 September 2021, International Safe Abortion Day, come together in support of all women, girls, and people who can become pregnant in their right to access safe and legal abortions and to uphold their right to bodily autonomy, sovereignty, and choice over their own bodies and lives. 

On this day, we express our solidarity with all involved in the call for universal access to affordable, safe, and legal abortion. We call all men and boys, especially men in positions of power and influence across institutions, to be responsible and join women, girls, and people of diverse gender identities in actions to protect and expand access to safe and legal abortions and post-abortion care everywhere.  

The ability of each and every one of us to make autonomous decisions about our own bodies and lives includes decisions about pregnancy and abortion. We must challenge the norms, systems, and policies that create barriers to safe abortion and post-abortion care, and restrict women and girls, in all their diversities, to their fundamental autonomy over themselves. We believe that no impediment should come between a pregnant person and their choice of whether or not  to carry a pregnancy to term. Yet, many women and girls are currently not able to access the safe and legal abortion and care they need globally. We recognize the disproportionate impact  on women of color,  black, indigenous, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and nonbinary individuals, and youth communities living at these intersections and who are on the margins of the margins. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 3 out of 10 (29%) of all pregnancies, and 6 out of 10 (61%) of all unintended pregnancies, ended in an induced abortion. While abortion is a simple procedure, and safe forms of abortion are available throughout the world, of all abortions performed each year worldwide approximately 45% continue to be unsafe, posing unnecessary risks to the health and life of the pregnant person.  

We believe that sexual and reproductive health and rights are not only women's issues. They are  issues for everyone and impact all of us. We call on men and boys to add their voices and take actions to protect access to safe and legal abortion, to protect universal access to health, and to speak up when they see violations of the human rights of women and girls taking place, including their right to reproductive healthcare.   

We are outraged that around the world women and girls continue to lack access to safe sexual and reproductive health services and abortion, particularly in countries where abortion is criminalized. We are also outraged by the systematic attempts by policymakers to revoke women’s rights in countries where abortion is legal, including most recently in the United States with Texas Law SB8, laying the foundation for dozens of states across the US to take the same action. 

This is a clear attack on women’s human and SRHR rights in the US, while they have been recognized as individual rights for a very long time.We are aware that the ability to travel to other States for these services bears a disproportionate socio-economic burden on Black, Latin and Indigineous women, women of lower-income and in informal labor, who are unable to take time off or to afford the expenses incurred, further marginalizing and directly targeting them. We collectively condemn this regressive move by the State and raise our collective voices to protect the right of pregnant people to end a pregnancy, if they so wish, in privacy and with dignity. 

The North American MenEngage Network (NAMEN) and MenEngage Alliance, therefore stand in solidarity with the women and abortion services and care providers in the United States and globally who have been under attack. Recent measures strive to sow fear and doubt in their rights, and intentionally create mistrust among and within the population, communities and families. Such measures are attacks on the fundamental rights and health of women and girls, and the wellbeing of communities all of which are appalling and unacceptable to us as men, boys, and supporters of women’s rights.

Supporting women’s right to safe and legal abortion is crucial in MenEngage Alliance’s activism globally. Together we take this opportunity to commit to supporting women’s fundamental rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive rights and work to challenge laws and policies restricting the right and access to safe abortion and post-abortion care for everyone who needs them. We call upon all men and boys, in all diversities, to work as meaningful allies in ending this long-overdue existing control of women’s sexuality and reproduction.

On this day, we call for the following:

Call to Action

• We call on the US Congress to protect federal law for the right to abortion, for all women, girls, and people who can become pregnant. We call on lawmakers in the State of Texas to immediately repeal Texas law SB8

• We call on other states to open access for women, girls, and people who can become pregnant as individuals from Texas seeking critical abortion services 

• We call on men and boys, in all their diversities and at all levels of society, especially men in positions of power and policymaking, to stand up and speak out alongside and in favor of the rights of all women,girls, and people with diverse identities to make the choices that are best for their bodies, their lives. 

On this 28 September 2021, International Safe Abortion Day, as MenEngage Alliance and NAMEN, we commit to continue to stand up and against any policy that limits anyone, anywhere, to make autonomous decisions about our own bodies and lives including decisions about pregnancy and abortion. We commit to the critical task of centering and elevating the agency, voices, analysis, and demands of girls and women of color, black, indigenous, lesbian, gay, transgender, youth, and non-binary individuals who are at the margins of the margin to access to safe and legal abortion, and care. We together commit to stand in solidarity and follow the leadership of feminist and SRHR leaders in this joint global struggle.

PDF Download

NAMEN is ready to hire a part time executive director position.

Visit here for full information:

Executive Director Job Posting

NAMEN hosts a Member Meet-up every other month.  For various reasons, we have needed to postpone the March session, originally scheduled for March 22nd.   Please watch this space for additional news.  Thanks for your participation.

NAMEN ANTI-ASIAN HATE STATEMENT

North American Men Engage Network (NAMEN) is outraged by the senseless and unthinkable killing of eight people in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, six of whom were Asian women. We condemn this racialized misogyny and femicide and push back against Anti-Asian and Pacific Islander (API) rhetoric, hate, and violence. We recognize that paramount in this brutality is the targeting of API women at the intersections of race, class, and gender. We recognize that Anti-Asian violence has been deeply embedded and upheld throughout U.S. history and policy on all levels and that we must call out and hold accountable all those that perpetuate violence, defend or embolden violence against API individuals, and/or ignore violence against the API community. We stand in solidarity with all API communities across North America and worldwide and will continue to interrogate and fight against xenophobia and white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, and ceaseless justifications for hate violence.

NAMEN Board of Directors

Announcement.   NAMEN Board Member, James Arana, is a panelist on a webinar presentation with the United Nations.

You are cordially invited to attend the United Nations General Assembly Virtual Side Event
Topic: Engaging Men & Boys to Advance Gender Equality
Hosted by: Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network (SCLAN)
September 24, 2020
9:00AM - 11:00AM Belize Time
11:00AM - 1:00PM New York Time
via Zoom

Register in advance for this virtual event:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PK8tB-S1SwmSNJ-dxHcbgQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the virtual event.

Our most recent Member Meet-Up, held on July 23rd, is now posted.

Please visit this page to view.

Recordings of our two most recent programs are now posted.

Webinar: Mobilizing Dad's for Gender Equality

Member Meet up Number Two, Discussion About Men's Self-Interest