Men’s Perspectives on Gender, Inclusion and Corruption

23 October 2025 –

Integrating and promoting a gender-sensitive lens in anti-corruption efforts is becoming increasingly essential to effectively promote inclusion and address the gendered dimensions of corruption. Diverse perspectives can enrich a narrative that has, to date, been shaped by feminist discourse, given that women often bear the greatest impact. However, achieving lasting systemic change also requires engaging men as active participants in this dialogue, creating spaces for them to challenge harmful gender norms and foster allyship that strengthens collective advocacy for equality, integrity, and social justice.

The 14th meeting of the UNCAC Coalition Working Group on Gender, Inclusion and Corruption put a special focus on men’s perspectives on these issues, shedding light on the important, yet under emphasised role men bring to combatting gendered forms of corruption. The meeting brought together speakers who shared lessons and perspectives on engaging men in the gender and corruption agenda, highlighting examples of men as allies in addressing gendered corruption, and how male activists are translating feminist discourse into action.

New Strategies To Align Anti-Corruption and Gender Equality Objectives

Daniel Kempken, Senior Advisor on Rule of Law and Board Member at Due Process of Law Foundation, provided an overview of the normative basis for bringing men’s perspectives into work around gender and corruption.

“More gender equality leads to less corruption” – Daniel Kempken, DPLF

Calling for the need to align anti-corruption and gender equality objectives, Kempken highlighted how the normative basis supporting the call for greater gender equality in anti-corruption efforts can be found across numerous United Nations declarations and resolutions, including:

These emphasise the differential impacts of corruption on men and women, as well as the strong link between gender and corruption.

Gender Equality is an issue that is equally important for women and men. It is a matter of international law, of  justice, of human rights and human dignity. Furthermore there are various studies which show that mixed teams, especially in the leadership of an institution, not only advance gender equality. Such working models provide more transparency and less corruption.

However, gender-based violence against women is on the rise globally, and previous successes in the fight for gender equality are under increasing stress. The dynamics have changed. It is necessary to defend long established language and attitudes. In the face of these challenges, new strategies are needed to align anti-corruption and gender equality objectives to counterbalance alarming trends.

​​You can read Daniel Kempken’s full intervention here.

Men Can No Longer Remain Silent

Frank Vogl, co-founder of Transparency International, former Chair and co-founder of Partnership for Transparency Fund, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, called for a paradigm shift that would give men a greater role, and encourage them to speak up and break the silence. Sexual corruption, the abuse of power in exchange for sexual gain, is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men. Whilst most of the work on gender and corruption is driven by women, men can, and should, be engaged as powerful allies and advocates. Men can no longer stand on the sidelines, and to continue to do so makes them complicit in their silence. 

Vogl called for the following suggestions of how men should engage in the fight against sexual corruption (read Frank Vogl’s full intervention on ‘Sexual Corruption: Men Can No Longer Remain Silent” here):

  • Break the silence: Sexual corruption largely remains a taboo topic in many countries. This needs to change, and community leaders and the media must be at the forefront of this effort. To secure meaningful results, women’s rights groups should strive to include men as advocates in their campaigns, especially to influence the largely male-dominated media.
  • Civil Society Engagement: Almost all issues of corruption demand leadership at the national level, especially on sexual corruption. Leadership must come from national-level civil society organizations, and not just those concerned with women’s rights, but more broadly those concerned with the full range of human rights issues.
  • Mobilise Communities: At the local community levels, there is a vital need for women’s supportive networks. When women come together in forums of survivors and activists, they can change the power dynamics in communities and reduce the control of entrenched patriarchal systems. Yet men also have roles to play as advocates, especially given how local law enforcement overwhelmingly rests in the hands of men who can easily brush aside cases of sexual corruption, unless it is firmly promoted by both local women and men.
  • Increase Activism: Whilst research is important, there is too little activism. It is encouraging to see more people in academia looking at sexual corruption, and the roles of men, however too little is being done to counter these crimes and punish criminals. Men and women must join together to act as campaigners, nationally and internationally. Men need to be engaged to join in action around the issue, such as campaigning and protesting, as the fight against gendered forms of corruption needs to involve all of society, not just women. 

Men In Action

Elaborating on the call for moving from research to activism, two inspiring examples were presented by Zakhona Mvelase, Founder of the African Women Against Corruption Network (AWACN) and Selma Tenold, a Master’s student in Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen. 

AWACN Men

Zakhona Mvelase presented the AWACN Men initiative and report: “Redefining Power: Men as Allies Against Gendered Corruption”, highlighting conversations with young men from universities and communities about integrity, harmful norms, and ethical leadership. 

AWACN began creating platforms across South Africa to understand the impact of corruption on women and girls, creating spaces for listening and learning. It has since evolved into a broader movement documenting the lived realities of corruption, challenging the systems and power dynamics that allow such abuses to persist. AWACN Men was born out of the recognition that tackling gendered forms of corruption cannot be the role of women alone, responding to the overlooked impact and role of men and boys in addressing corruption rooted in gender inequality. The initiative brought together over 200 young men from universities in South Africa to discuss redefining power and engaging men as allies. AWACN Men recognises men as not only bystanders or potential perpetrators, but as changemakers, and victims of sexual corruption too. 

The initiative highlighted harmful gender norms that many men internalise through socialization, including anger towards women and the misconception that victims of sexual corruption willingly use sex as a bribe for personal gain, such as to secure employment, rather than recognizing it as a non-consensual act and an abuse of power by those in positions of authority.

There was recognition that sexual corruption is embedded in everyday norms and perpetuates a position of silence in South Africa. There is a need to raise awareness about the impact of power dynamics on conversations around sexual corruption. Victims of all genders need support, including male victims who may feel uncomfortable speaking up due to harmful stigma around masculinity. To counteract this, positive masculinity is essential, as well as zero tolerance policies in institutions towards harmful gender norms and reporting systems that are sensitive to survivor’s needs.

Corruption extends beyond legal frameworks and technical reforms, it is rooted in power dynamics, culture, and inequality. Real change demands engagement with affected communities to understand lived experiences and craft effective responses.  The silence surrounding sexual corruption reflects both limited recognition and the absence of language to define it. Breaking this silence and opening inclusive spaces for discussion is essential to drive change.

The AWACN platforms are a significant step forward as cultural shifts start with honest conversations, and it is vital to educate men and boys on such issues, reframe masculinity, and create spaces for them to grow beyond inherited norms. Allyship around gender and corruption is essential, and the launch of AWACN Men signaled that young men are ready to engage.

Check out AWACN’s website to see their upcoming projects and tools for male allyship in gender and corruption work. 

How Male Activists Translate Feminist Discourse

Selma Tenold’s thesis “Caught Between Machistas and Feministas: Men’s Efforts to Promote New Masculinities within Uruguay’s Polarized Gender Landscape”, was based on six months of fieldwork conducted in Montevideo, Uruguay in 2024, with a focus on how male activists translate the feminist discourse, responses from female activists, and issues of intersectionality and masculinity.

Tenold’s fieldwork aimed to understand men’s roles in the fight for gender equality through participatory observation with independent activists and organised groups of male activists. Selma found that men’s engagement with gender has not always been welcomed in Uruguayan society, and whilst most women celebrate men’s contributions, some remain sceptical, with concerns that men’s participation in feminism risks reproducing male dominance in the public sphere. There are also concerns about men using the label of feminism to mask sexist and violent behaviours. Acknowledging these concerns, Tenold found that some male activists had adapted their activism to avoid such critiques, supporting parades from the sidelines for example. Male activists also face resistance from other men, with accusations of ‘betraying the brotherhood’.

Despite these challenges, male activists recognized the importance of upholding legitimacy and respect from other men in their work, as this allowed them to introduce the issue of gender into spaces and conversations where such discussions would otherwise be unwelcome, such as the training of law enforcement officials. These findings emphasise how important it is to bring men in as allies in the work around gender and corruption.