getting the help of young men

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When [Terence] Gloria returned from the youth camp in Dumaguete City, he was a transformed man -- and his family in Iloilo province and his friends told him so.

His refusal to join his friends in their usual forays earns him a lot of ribbing. But he is always quick to grab the chance to explain to them "First Time," a 30-second video showing a young man being initiated in the ways of sex by his barkada on his birthday.

In the video, the friends bring the birthday boy a woman for a present. But when he enters the bedroom and turns to the woman, he sees the face of his mother, sister, or girlfriend. Then the voiceover: "Ang babae hindi binibili (A woman is not bought)."

Gloria tells his friends: "When you see a woman dancing or being used, how would you feel if that woman is someone from your family?"

A young men's camp. Teenage boys. Organizers who believe that though "other women's groups wouldn't put money into educating men, .. we invest in this because ... men can also be advocates of the campaign against violence against women."

Here's the lowdown, from PDI's front page today.

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'Sex' camp reconstructs men's view of women

First posted 05:10am (Mla time) Oct 05, 2005
By Stella Gonzales
Inquirer News Service


Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the Oct. 5, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

(Editor's note: Oct. 5 is the International Day of No Prostitution.)

FOR these young men, it was an epiphany.

Terence Cleo Gloria, 20, was a freshman at the University of the Philippines-Cebu when he started frequenting bars with his barkada (peer group) and boarding house companions. When they had extra cash, they would "table" prostituted women -- a "normal" pastime, they thought, for others like them.

It was a different "trip" for Lester Añonuevo, now 19, and his friends. They enjoyed watching porn videos where women were treated as mere commodities, and some of their female friends even watched along with them.

In May 2004, Añonuevo attended the Young Men's Camp on Gender Issues, Sexuality and Prostitution. A year later, Gloria and his friends made up the third batch of attendees.

The experience dramatically changed the way they viewed and treated women.

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