Men As Partners: Why The Concern?

"Male Involvement and Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention"; Adapted from an article by Robert Becker, MS (http://www.etr.org/recapp/theories/mip/index.htm)

1. Traditionally, family planning and reproductive health services have been female focused. In the past, this focus made sense since most family planning methods are female dependent, and women are disproportionately affected by the negative consequences of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. However, since the onset of the AIDS epidemic, reproductive health professionals have increasingly recognized the important role that supportive male partners can play…While there are many "women’s" health centers, there are a few equivalent health facilities for men. Adolescent men are especially at risk for unintended pregnancy and STIs because they are more likely to be misinformed about sexuality and sexual health. Young men are socialized to "know it all" when it comes to sex, to not ask questions, and to always be ready and willing to engage in sexual activity. Young men initiate sex earlier than young women and tend to accumulate more partners over their lifetime. These factors, combined with adolescents’ overall sense of invulnerability, lead many young men to engage in sexual activity that puts their own and their partners’ reproductive health in jeopardy.
   The emerging awareness of the important role young men can play in improving their own and their partner’s health has led to an increase in the number of programs focusing on male involvement. While male involvement has taken on many forms over the years, the term has come to encompass any clinical, community outreach, and/or educational initiative that improves young men’s ability to make informed decisions about their reproductive and sexual health.
   Public support for male involvement has increased as attention has been drawn to the costs of unintended pregnancy and child support. Recent studies suggest that 70% of births to adolescent women occur out of wedlock and that 4 out of 5 young mothers begin receiving welfare soon after the birth of their first child. Some policymakers believe that by requiring financial responsibility, men will be motivated to support unintended pregnancies and births. There is a need to focus on helping men avoid unintended pregnancies.
   There is some encouraging evidence that male involvement programs are working. Data from the 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males describes some of the possible positive effects of male involvement programs

   90 % of teenage males having sex used condoms in the last year (although less than half used condoms 100% of the time)

   About 2/3 of teenage men express little discomfort about discussing condoms with a new partner

   Among sexually experienced teenage males, more than half have one partner or less in one year

   More than 90% of teenage males agree that male responsibilities include: talking about contraception before sexual intercourse, using contraception to protect against unwanted pregnancy, and taking responsibility for a child they have fathered.

   Few teenage males express the belief that causing a pregnancy would make them feel like a "real man"

   By age 19, 15% of males are still virgins

Books/Manuals:

Not Just For Girls: Involving Boys and Men in Teen Pregnancy Prevention (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy): http://www.ksinet.com/teen/user-cqi/puborderelec.cqi

Blueprint for Male Involvement (Center for Health Training) 1809 7^th Avenue, Suite 400 Seattle, WA 98101-1313; 206-447-9538; www.jba-cht.com

Web links

1. AVSC’s Men as Partners Program: http://www.avsc.org/emerging/map/index.html
2. Reproductive Health Outlook "Men and Reproductive Health": http://www.rho.org/html/menrh.htm
3. FHI Network Magazine "Men and Reproductive Health": http://www.fhi.org/en/fp/fppubs/network/v18-3/index.html
4. IPPF "Male Involvement: An Annotate Bibliography": http://www.ippf.org/resource/mbib/index.htm
5. The Urban Institute Involving Males in Preventing Teen Pregnancy: http://www.urban.org/family/invmales.html
6. Sociometrics The Data Archive on Adolescent Pregnancy and Pregnancy Prevention: http://www.socio.com/data_arc/daappp 0.htm
7. Office of Population Affairs: http://www.hhs.gov/progorg/opa/index.html

What Is True Manhood?

1. Being a man is not about sexual activity…it is about making mature, responsible decisions and respecting yourself and others enough to practice safe, health-promoting behavior.
2. A real man takes full responsibility for all his actions
3. A real man stands up for his values and character and stays true to the decisions that he makes
4. A real man knows that sex does not equal adulthood
5. Remember: All males deserve support in making the decision to save sex for marriage!

Useful Links

 www.spiritofmanhood.org