Advocates for Social Change Kenya (ADSOCK) formerly Men for Gender Equality Now (MEGEN) was established in 2001 during a regional Men to Men Conference that was held in Nairobi, Kenya and brought together men from six (6) African countries.  Following the regional conference, ADSOCK set out to demonstrate what a national movement could do, using different methodologies to reach out to men in diverse communities. Our experience helped us to broaden our thinking and look beyond Violence Against Women (VAW) and thus widen the scope of our thinking and engagement. As we interacted with different communities, the intersection between Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), HIV & AIDS and other social issues became apparent.

We found a group of men who gave us inspiration in working with men and to help them live positively especially those who had contracted HIV & AIDS. We have since inception worked with different stakeholders to ensure our programmes reach a wide audience and particularly people at the grassroots. Over the years, we have been conducting a range of educational, awareness, lobbying and advocacy activities on the role of men and boys in promoting gender equality, ending Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and the spread of HIV and AIDS. It draws on a general membership of men and women of different ages, education, social, cultural and professional diversities.

The bedrock of all ADSOCK’s projects is community mobilisation and advocacy. All project actions focus specifically more on collective and institutional levels of change by encouraging contextually nested approaches and collaborations to sustainably influence men and boys through policy and practice at community and institutional levels. At the community level, ADSOCK endeavour to draw on the knowledge and expertise of women as well as men – since research shows that this knowledge is extremely valuable for developing appropriate and effective interventions for addressing gender inequalities in diverse communities.

ADSOCK has a clear set of objectives and we are allied with numerous partners, who seek the realization of gender equality, promotion of human rights and social justice. The following steps will be taken to lay the groundwork for our collective actions: 

• Strengthening and mobilizing partnerships with community leaders, community and faith-based organizations, men and boys to tackle entrenched gender stereotypes. Equally important to this task is ensuring that conventional and social media and communications partners strategically support shaping attitudes and behaviours to reverse gender inequality;
• Re-structuring and upgrading our effectiveness, and presence on the ground, at both national and local levels; and
• Filling critical gaps that exist in generating and using data, statistics, evidence, and analysis on gender equality and social justice in the areas where we operate.