15 - Wanted: Men to Champion the Movement

Summary

Men born male may be immune to cervical cancer, but they play a pivotal role in helping to do away with the disease – with good reason to do so. Men benefit greatly from keeping women alive. But in order to spare persons with cervixes this potent killer, they must put women’s rights at the forefront. The following are among the ways men can demonstrate this alliance: they can lower HPV transmission through condom use and male circumcision, support and advocate for family members and friends fighting cervical cancer, back women in key leadership positions, and empower them to make their own health care decisions. Men can also work to transform patriarchal norms and laws – belief systems often at the root of ignorance, misunderstanding, and stigma about the disease. All of these efforts are instrumental toward the larger goal of reducing cervical cancer rates. As men get involved with cervical cancer elimination in higher- or lower-income countries, their activism alongside or on behalf of women can make an immediate difference. The quest to eliminate this disease simply cannot succeed without the unwavering support, understanding, and commitment of the world’s other half.