UWS Boys Empowered

Preventing gender-based violence by redefining male stereotypes and advocating for healthy masculinity

The Programme

The programme was launched with the “Strength Without Violence” campaign; advocating for healthy concepts of manhood with its powerful tagline, “Be A (Real) Man: Strength Without Violence”. The campaign sought to ignite conversations among youths and parents on the topic of gender norms and gender-based violence by redefining what it means to be a man as a society. Last year, UWS also collaborated with various NGOs and government agencies to pinpoint challenges faced by vulnerable groups experiencing domestic violence and find ways to break the cycle of violence.

As observed, one of the key factors associated with gender-based violence; was the influence of negative societal gender stereotypes on men’s perception of women. The UWS Boys Empowered Programme was thus born to educate boys on healthy masculinity ideals and empower them to be allies for the prevention of violence against women. We empower boys to be individuals who will model strength without violence & be proactive bystanders with the skills to interrupt or prevent situations of violence in our community. We hope to raise public awareness of negative gender stereotypes and their role in the perpetration of violence against women, and challenge boys and men to confront these harmful stereotypes. This early engagement of boys, through advocating healthy concepts of masculinity, is essential to shatter harmful gender norms and prevent gender-based violence.

Programme Beneficiaries

Males from 13 to 25 years old from all backgrounds. 

We Need Male Allies

“While Singapore is a progressive country, there remains a tremendous amount of urgent work that needs to be done to address gender-based violence and the societal norms that influence such behaviour. Encouraging men’s ownership of this growing problem, and being able to lean on their support to intervene in such situations is key to ending gender-based violence. We hope that men will step up to be active allies and help women feel safer in their environment.” 

– Ms Georgette Tan, President of UWS.

The Curriculum

Group Workshops

For boys to unpack & unlearn harmful gender stereotypes while learning about emotional resilience & empathy, to encourage male allyship for gender equality & provide them with the skills and confidence to safely interrupt violence when it occurs to them and others.

Circle of Influence - Speaker Series

For boys to hear from influential male leaders who will share their personal stories, strategies to convert challenges into opportunities and model leadership for boys and men to improve themselves and thrive.

Community Summit

Featuring subject matter experts on men’s health & well- being, psychology, sports & coaching and social or cultural issues to cultivate changemakers in our community who can make positive changes within their areas of influence.

Our Key Partners

Testimonials

Bring our workshops to your school/organisation

Contact Us

Join us as a Volunteer Workshop Facilitator

Publications

Paving Gender Equality through Allyship

Being an ally is a continuous process of reflection, self-awareness and self-accountability. We must acknowledge and, more importantly, have conversations about the harmful effects of discrimination and biases we have about each gender.

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STEMentorship 2022

Connecting Girls to Role Models in STEM

By connecting these mentors with budding STEM enthusiasts, we hope that more girls will feel inspired to explore alternative career paths. Mentors and Mentee shares about what they learnt from the Girls2Pioneers STEM Mentorship Programme.

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UWS STEM Fest 2022 Highlights

The inaugural United Women Singapore (UWS) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Festival that took place on 29 Oct, 2022 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, saw over 650 students, parents, educators and STEM professionals come together as a supportive community for young women to build their competence and inspire confidence in them to succeed in future of jobs in the STEM field.

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