MOSCOW, January 14 (Sputnik) — The two-day Barbershop Conference, which started at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday, engages men in discussions to address gender-based discrimination and stop violence against women.
"The Barbershop Conference aims at engaging men and boys to address negative stereotypes of masculinity and to become active promoters of gender equality. A special focus will be on efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls," the Conference's website said.
The organizers have chosen the "Barbershop" name for the conference owing to the fact that this has traditionally been considered place for conversations between men.
The Barbershop Conference was initiated by Iceland and Suriname. In September 2014, Foreign Ministers of these countries at the United Nations General Assembly session put forward an ambitious idea of bringing together activists and experts to breakdown gender stereotypes and combat discrimination against women.
