Activists against gender-based violence have called on men to play a bigger role in the fight against violence against women, saying it would give the campaign a new impetus.

The call follows a three-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion held at Hotel Novotel Umubano in Kigali.

"We should not let the victims of violence fight it alone; men should also get involved in addressing any form of violence to ensure that the abuse is eradicated," Maarit Hirvonen, the Country Director and Representative of the United Nations World Food Programme, said.

Hirvonen said that men were identified as the authors of gender-based violence and were an important factor in the fight against this kind of abuse. Hirvonen explained that men can work as peer educators to the communities in which they live to ensure that sexual abuses are eliminated.Augustin Kimonyo, a UNFPA consultant, said that men have not been active in the fight against all forms of violence against women before, but with their involvement, it would help address the problem.

Kimonyo added that economic empowerment of women was also a key instrument in the war against gender-based violence since most abuses have a relationship with poverty.

Activists also called on the public to denounce all forms of violence.

They further called on schools and institutions of higher learning to form anti-gender-based violence clubs.

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