The other side of the coin: Unanswered questions of men’s sexuality

The Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, particularly during the period of the lockdown, has seen a significant increase in the reported cases of sexual assault, harassment and abuse of women and girls. These appalling acts have been more brazen over time and consistently made headlines in various dailies. Just between January and August this year, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA) recorded 892 cases of rape—tantamount to nearly four cases a day. The reader at this juncture must keep in mind that this is but a fraction of what actually may be happening, as the majority of cases stay unreported. At the same time, we have had a marked growth in all areas of women's empowerment. For instance, we have had two female premiers in power continuously over the past three decades, while our largest foreign currency earner (RMGs) has been a driver of female labour market engagement. We have an active young population, who have taken to the streets repeatedly to protest against the harrowing violence against women. In response, the government has introduced the capital punishment for rape, though not without criticism.

Now the question is, although our general response seems to be fine on paper, why is it not working? What is the missing part of the puzzle? We should ask ourselves: Are men, particularly the youth, missing from our equation of the solution? The answer, unfortunately, is a resounding yes!

To answer our first question, we should ask: how much do we really know about the sexual aspects of male youth in Bangladesh—particularly, in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)? Not much. At this juncture, our understanding of male sexuality, thoughts and perceptions, source of information, or healthcare seeking behaviour is limited at best. But why does this matter? It does because they represent the missing part of our "solutions" equation. Where these men and youth get their information, how these warp their perceptions, and how they deal with their frustrations directly affect how they treat women. This absence of knowledge on these topics is mostly driven by an absence of international attention to the subject. For example, despite the issue of all-inclusive SRHR being reflected across some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the focus on the male aspects of SRHR is largely absent. The global literature on men's SRH behaviours and practices is limited. A study by Darroch et al (2016) finds that globally, only a quarter of the countries systematically collect information on men's sexual and reproductive behaviours, contraceptive needs and use as well as fertility preferences.

Taking all these factors into consideration, the Brac James P Grant School of Public Health recently conducted a national survey on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of male youth in Bangladesh. The survey, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is the first of its kind in Bangladesh and is expected to generate nationally representative evidence on SRHR knowledge, practices, behaviours and needs of male youth within the age group of 15-24 years. This quantitative part followed a two-stage random sampling: it was conducted in all eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh and included both city corporations, rural and urban areas of all sixty-four districts, interviewing a nationally representative sample. At the same time, qualitative information has been collected by utilising a focused ethnographic approach, where the researchers literally spent months in the selected localities to collect information from the selected respondents, to generate a deeper and comprehensive understanding of the current condition of SRHR of male youth from both supply- and demand-side perspectives.

This study generated data on an array of indicators. This includes demographic, socio-economic conditions, knowledge, perception and practice regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights, health seeking behaviour regarding SRH, exposure of technology, pornography, daily activities, religious beliefs, gender-based violence, stress and conflict related to gender roles, masculinity, risk taking behaviour and aspiration of male youth.

In this article, we won't go into the details of the findings as the analysis is still ongoing, but some initial findings suggest that peer networks are one of the first sources of information for men regarding sexual and reproductive health. This increases the likelihood of warped perceptions, practices and being misinformed as the peer groups are themselves in the dark. As a result, most of the information are derived from questionable sources including pornography, word of mouth and informal sources of providers (i.e. street sellers of medicines, kabirajis, untrained homeopaths). Shyness and taboo around the topics were identified as among the leading barriers to seeking healthcare, despite many suffering from severe health problems such as erectile dysfunction, urethral discharge and testicular swelling. The survey further explores the role of education and age when it comes to adhering to gender equitable perceptions and respect for women. In addition, it investigates how risk-taking behaviours (drug abuse, having multiple sexual partners, etc.) are correlated with performing idealised and perceived masculinity behaviours.

The nationwide research attempts to understand the gaps and challenges of male-inclusive sexual and reproductive health interventions and services. Challenges such as community resistance, lack of sensitivity among parents, teachers and health care providers at the field level have emerged from the initial findings. The study further reviewed how much this issue has been addressed in the existing policies, laws and acts in Bangladesh and tried to identify gaps in these areas that require immediate attention. The findings along with recommendations will be disseminated at the national level later this year.

The significance of scientifically derived evidence in addressing core social issues is immense and, in this case, the generated data will give us a clear picture of the ground realities. This will further facilitate adopting new and revising existing policies to address their shortcomings. As a society, our broader objective should be to create an environment where men can become advocates for sexual and reproductive rights, not only for themselves but also for their gender counterparts as well. Unless they are not aware of their own health and rights, they will not be able to comprehend and respect the sexual and reproductive health and rights of the opposite sex. There continues to be an urgent need to hold males accountable. To accomplish this, there needs to be widespread inclusion of men in discussions on gender equity and respect in the media and mass campaigns, providing good role models who can denounce and shame toxic masculinity traits and promote them in taking on more gender equitable roles.

Farzana Misha is research coordinator for the project "Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) for Male Youth in Bangladesh", James P Grant School of Public Health, Brac University. The writer is grateful for the support of Professor Sabina Rashid, principle investigator of the project, and the research team for the production of this article.