Gender Relations, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and the Effects of Conflict on Women and Men in North Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

The International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) — created and coordinated by Promundo and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) — is one of the most comprehensive studies ever on men’s practices and attitudes as they relate to gender norms, attitudes toward gender equality policies, household dynamics including caregiving and men’s involvement as fathers, intimate partner violence, health and economic stress. As of 2013, it had been carried out in 10 countries (including this study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) with additional partner studies in Asia inspired in part by IMAGES.

The data provide insights on men’s use of violence against partners, participation in caregiving and men’s reactions to the global gender equality agenda, among other themes. The survey includes both women and men and is carried out with respondents aged 18 to 59. In keeping with World Health Organization recommendations for survey research about sexual and gender-based violence, the survey is carried out with men and women in the same communities but not in the same households. All ethical procedures are followed. The survey is carried out together with qualitative research to map masculinities, contextualize the survey results and provide detailed life histories that illuminate quantitative key findings. In the case of conflict and post-conflict settings, the IMAGES questionnaire includes additional questions on the effects of conflict and displacement on gender relations.