June 2010 Number 158 www.worldbank.org/enbreve 56687 A regular series of notes highlighting recent lessons emerging from the operational and analytical program of the World Bank‘s Latin America and Caribbean Region. SPECIAL SERIES: Doing Gender in LAC Boys at Risk: A Gender Issue in the Caribbean Requiring a Multi-Faceted and Cross-Sectoral Approach By María Beatriz Orlando and Jonna Lundwall1 where the challenges related to crime and violence, access The Latin American and Caribbean region has made to the labor market, and poverty alleviation are dominating significant progress in some basic indicators of gender policy agendas and are crucial for economic and social equality (access to education and health services and development. Studies show that countries like Jamaica female labor force participation) and lags behind in and Haiti, for example, could boost economic growth by others. However, a second generation of emerging 5.4 percent per year if homicide rates were reduced to that of issues suggests that, although women continue to Costa Rica (UNODC and World Bank, 2007). be disadvantaged in a number of indicators, boys’ underachievement in education and their participation However, the region’s average youth unemployment is as perpetrators and victims of violent crime require a 17 percent; in some countries, it is more than 30 percent. The new gender paradigm that includes male issues. number of “idle” youth—neither working nor in school—is also high. In addition, the gap between boys’ and girls’ participation Despite the traditional focus on female-related indicators, and performance levels in education is growing (Cunningham there is a clear gender dimension to the problems of et al., 2008). For example, in Suriname, the ratio of female to at-risk youth, since young boys and girls engage in male enrollment in secondary education was 138.9 in 2007, different kinds of risky behaviors and in different ways. up from 116.3 in 2000. In the Dominican Republic, the female Boys and girls also tend to engage differently with to male ratio of enrollment in secondary school was 120 in schools, communities, and the labor market. This implies 2006. Such idleness is a main contributor to risky and violent that programs and policies need to be designed and behavior, and school attendance/connectedness is the single implemented with different approaches and tools to most important factor in reducing violent behavior (Blum et benefit and to reach effectively both girls and boys. al., 2003). In developing countries, youth comprise half of the population Regional Caribbean Initiative on Keeping and approximately 60 percent of the poor. In Latin America Boys Out of Risk and the Caribbean, of the 100 million young people, more than half are “at risk:” engaging in or expected to engage in In response, the World Bank and the Commonwealth risky behavior, dropping out of school, committing crime Secretariat joined forces to work on a Regional Caribbean and violent acts, having unsafe sexual relations, and abusing Initiative on Keeping Boys Out of Risk. The initiative drugs and alcohol (Cunningham, McGinnis, García Verdú, seeks to address the cross-cutting problem of boys at risk Tesliuc, and Verner, 2008). as a gender issue related to development challenges, such as alienation from education, dropping-out, crime and Addressing youth at risk with a gender differentiated violence, male marginalization, access to the labor market, perspective is particularly important in the Caribbean, and poverty alleviation. 1 María Beatriz Orlando is a Senior Economist with LCSPP and Jonna Lundwall was a Consultant with LCSPP. 1 The initiative includes three main pillars to identify, share, and promote experiences that have demonstrated success in Box 1. Discussing Masculinity in Jamaica engaging youth at risk: The Male Awareness Now (MAN) Project is managed 1. A High-level Regional Caribbean Conference to share by the Jamaican non-governmental organization and analyze experiences on boys’ underachievement Children First. The main objective of the project is in education, skills development and response to labor to address the impact of culture and the need for re- market challenges. socialization of young men’s behavior and attitudes. The project provides out-of-school young males from 2. A Regional Contest to identify and promote successful poor and unruly communities with the vocational skills initiatives that target youth-at-risk. Top-rated programs training and life skills education required to enter into included teaching boys car repair in Suriname, a formal schools, training programs, or employment mentoring plan linking delinquent boys with men who opportunities. can serve as role models in Dominica, entrepreneurial training in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and conflict Key Enabling Factors for Success: resolution activities in Jamaica (see Box 1 for an example). • Active participation in the design has led to a 3. Knowledge Dissemination, including a Best Practices sense of ownership of the project by the young Fair to share innovative experiences and ideas from men and provided them with the opportunity and among a range of stakeholders on best practices to identify key masculinity issues for discussions, that target at-risk youth, as well as the development of to share the project model and their experience materials such as a Resource Kit, videos and a Web site. with adults, and to monitor and evaluate project implementation. Sharing these experiences and the lessons learned served as a constructive tool to inspire and motivate stakeholders • Ongoing involvement of the parents in the to cooperate and to deal with these issues in an effective project provides space for dialogue and bonding manner. This is evidenced by the key outcome of the Regional amongst the children and the parent(s). Conference: “A Common Platform for Action to Keep Boys Out of Risk.” This platform identifies specific measures to keep • Community “buy-in” fosters community spirit and boys out of risk in the region, sets country level priorities and interest in the project. Community activities such actions, and creates opportunities for further cooperation. as career expositions offer both adults and young people the possibility to explore employment and Caribbean Countries Emphasize Need for educational opportunities. Attitude Shift • The skills component of the project instills a sense of pride and accomplishment in participants. In the Regional Caribbean Conference on Keeping Boys Out of Risk, country delegations from 15 Caribbean countries identified the priority issues to address boys at risk disadvantaged children and young people from engaging in the thematic areas of schooling and education, and skills in risky behavior. The best approaches focus on helping development for labor market insertion, with some issues those affected by risky behavior to recover and return to of a more general cross cutting nature. Recurring priorities, a safe and productive path to adulthood. Although few of described in Table 1, are related to the need for behavioral these interventions have been evaluated, there is sufficient and attitude changes at all levels of society, the importance evidence to make some recommendations. The general of life skills training, and the provision for comprehensive policies address critical risk factors at the community and interventions to bridge existing gaps in a more inclusive macro levels, but have also been shown to be particularly manner. effective at reducing risky behavior by young people. Policies and Approaches for Boys at Risk Table 2 presents the core policies and approaches that respond to the priority issues identified in the Conference. The World Bank publication Supporting Youth at Risk: It contains examples corresponding to the seven finalist a Toolkit for Middle Income Countries (Cunningham, initiatives of the Regional Caribbean Contest: Keeping McGinnis, Cohan, and Naudeau, 2008) describes core Boys Out of Risk. Addressing the needs of boys at risk policies, promising approaches and general policies for an requires a multi-facetted and multi-sectoral approach. For evidence-based framework to guide the work on at-risk that reason, the distribution of policies and approaches into youth. They should form part of an overall strategy. The core one of the three thematic areas of schooling and education, policies have an established track record in preventing skills development for labor market insertion, and cross 2 Table 1. Caribbean Priority Issues for Addressing Boys at Risk Thematic Skills Development for Labor Area Schooling and Education Cross Cutting Issues Concept Market Insertion Individual • Improve literacy and numeracy skills • Foster mentorships and career • Provide life skills training • Support youth with behavioral disorders development opportunities • Tackle peer pressure and drug abuse or learning disabilities to successfully • Focus on early childhood development, • Reshape ways in which masculinity is complete secondary school including early and continuous exposure constructed and expressed to life skills training Family/ • Increase opportunities for parents/ • Encourage and build national parental • Provide support services to parents and household families to engage with schools support groups to assist parents in orientation on ‘parenting’, in particular • Provide support to build strong schools managing at risk-youth, including focus related to raising boys and managing and parents on skills development at-risk youth • Address issues of absentee fathers and lack of positive role models Community • Improve school - community relationship • Institutionalize participation of the • Improve and increase community • Develop adequate programs for private sector in building employability involvement in children’s development community engagement in children’s • Provide a way for youth voices to be activities and develop and use effective development activities heard and for young people to engage in community role models activities that impact their lives • Provide recreational facilities and activities to provide useful leisure time for young people, including youth to youth programs Local • Provide a relevant and creative • Develop skills for life but also for labor • Ensure programs for marginalized males Institutions curriculum with updated materials markets • Provide counselling support for boys • Develop school administration capacity • Develop youth to youth programs and to manage at-risk youth encourage peer to peer leadership • Deal with gender stereotyping in schools • Change teachers’ negative attitudes Ohers • Enhance the status of teachers; improve • Include youth participation in program • Promote multi-sectoral approaches and teacher training facilities, provide design and ensure programs for strategies, and innovative programming retraining of principals and teachers for marginalized males • Provide a rehabilitative focus for more effective pedagogy, and establish • Include entrepreneur and apprenticeship correctional programs for at-risk youth and promote gender units within teacher programs as part of youth education • Foster positive media policy and training institutions • Continuously match curriculum to labor messages to influence boys and youth market needs and include IT; provide • Promote conceptual understanding of relevant training for teachers gender at all levels (including policy • Provide certification of youth skills and planning level) competencies Source: Based on the results of the Regional Caribbean Conference on Keeping Boys Out of Risk, Jamaica, May 2009. cutting issues is not rigid or exclusive, but aims to provide the diagnosis and consensus on the problem of boys at risk, a more structured presentation based on the priorities there is a vacuum when it comes to measuring the impact identified in the Common Platform for Action. of youth at risk programs. This gap is even larger when it comes to generating the gender sensitive evidence needed Generating the Evidence to Become to provide feedback to support improvements in the design of programs and policies. More Effective Well targeted boys-at-risk programs reduce insecurity and To contribute to the design and implementation of policies provide opportunities to spur economic development, but and strategies that effectively redirect young men from risky a broader exchange of experiences is crucial to understand behavior to economically productive activities, countries the effects of boys’ risky behavior on society as a whole and need a sound and reliable framework of lessons learned. This to identify adequate policies and instruments to address the framework should be based on impact evaluations for an problems. evidence-based understanding of the gender differentiated impact of projects and programs that target at-risk youth. The knowledge exchange and learning stimulated by the To that end, the World Bank has secured funding from a Regional Caribbean Conference on Keeping Boys Out Dutch trust fund to implement important activities that of Risk is valuable to broaden and deepen the discussion. have been identified as priorities in the region and provide However, the opportunity to scale up and replicate good the evidence necessary to identify adequate policies and practices to enhance the impact of the exchange is limited instruments to address the needs of boys at risk. by the evidence available. While there is an agreement on 3 Table 2. Policies, Approaches and Examples of Initiatives Addressing Youth at Risk Policies and Approaches Examples Schooling & Core Policies “Alternative Dispute Resolution Services Education • Keep children in school until they have completed secondary education and Training For At-Risk Youth”, • Use students as a captive audience in schools to give them key risk prevention messages Dispute Resolution Foundation, and Jamaica • Identify at-risk youth who need remedial support “A Golden Future: Training and Promising Approaches Mentoring Program for At-Risk • Provide financial incentives to young people to promote good decision making Students”, Stichting Projekta, • Offer activities for youth in youth-friendly spaces within existing public buildings Suriname Skills Core Policies “Training Young Men to Become Car Development for • Provide opportunities for skills development for employment Mechanics”, Stichting TANA, Suriname Labor Market Promising Approaches Insertion “Build Your Dreams: Youth Business • Invest in education equivalency degree programs for over-age young people who want Plan Competition” Peace Corps & to complete their formal education Plan International, the Dominican • Invest in job training programs that include a mixture of technical skills, life skills, and Republic & Haiti internships • Provide targeted employment services to at-risk youth • Support pilot self-employment programs Cross Cutting Core Policies “Engaging Young Men From Inner City Issues • Focus on the first five years of life to prevent risky behavior among young people Communities”, People’s Action for • Promote effective parenting as the cornerstone of policies and programs for at-risk youth Community Transformation (PACT), • Use national and local media to expose young people to social marketing messages and Jamaica reduce their exposure to negative behaviors “Male Awareness Now (MAN) Project”, Promising Approaches Children First Agency, Jamaica • Establish programs in which caring adults mentor at-risk youth • Incorporate life skills into all interventions targeted to at-risk youth “From Offending to Achieving: General Policies Skills and Personal Development • Reduce youth crime and violence by focusing on rehabilitation and on providing second for Juveniles”, The Social Centre, chance opportunities for young offenders Dominica References • Adams, Arvil V. 2007. The Role of Youth Skills Development in the Transition to Work: A Global Review. Washington DC: The World Bank. • Blum, Robert W., Linda Halcón, Trish Beuhring, Ernest Pate, Sheila, Campell-Forrester, and Anneke Venema. 2003. “Adolescent Health in the Caribbean: Risk and Protective Factors.” American Journal of Public Health, 93(3): 456-460. • Cunningham, Wendy, Linda McGinnis, Lorena M. Cohan, and Sophie Naudeau. 2008. Supporting Youth at Risk: A Policy Toolkit for Middle-Income Countries. Washington DC: The World Bank. • Cunningham, Wendy, Linda McGinnis, Rodrigo García Verdú, Cornelia Tesliuc, and Dorte Verner. 2008. Youth at Risk in Latin America and the Caribbean: Understanding the Causes, Realizing the Potential. Washington DC: The World Bank. • Jha, Jyotsna, Kelleher, Fatimah. 2006. Boys’ Underachievement in Education: An Exploration in Selected Commonwealth Countries. London: Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth of Learning. • Regional Caribbean Conference on Keeping Boys Out of Risk. May 2009. A Common Platform for Action, Montego Bay, Jamaica May 2009. Available at www.worldbank.org/lacgender • UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). 2004. “What About Boys?” in The State of the World’s Children 2004, pp. 59-69. New York: UNICEF. • UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) and the World Bank. 2007. Crime, Violence and Development: Trends, Costs and Policy Options in the Caribbean. Washington DC: The World Bank. • World Bank. 2007. World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation. Washington DC: The World Bank. About the LCR Gender Team: The Gender Team is part of the Poverty and Gender Group in the Latin America and Caribbean (LCR) Region’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Unit of the World Bank. The mission of the LCR Gender Team is to contribute to the quality and effectiveness of development interventions and outcomes through the inclusion of the gender perspective in World Bank’s work in Latin America and the Caribbean. www.worldbank.org/lacgender Disclaimer: The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. 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