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Core Values
- Understand the societal pressures women and girls face.
All girls and women live with the knowledge that they could be assaulted by someone they know or even love. BWHD provides an opportunity for men to learn what it is like to live with that knowledge and how it shapes women's reality.
- Listen.
Listening is the most important communications skill. Actively listening to your daughter lets her know that you value what she has to say.
- Be mindful of space.
Men are often unaware of the amount of physical, verbal and emotional space they occupy in relation to women and girls. BWHD activities build awareness of the need to provide space for girls to expand their identity and grow into their full potential as women.
- Pause.
Fathers are encouraged to pause in different situations to allow time and space for their daughters. For example, a father may pause during a conversation to hear another view or during activities to ensure that everyone is included.
- Practice assertiveness instead of aggression.
Understanding the distinction between assertiveness and aggression is important. Both fathers and daughters get opportunities to practice assertiveness and to challenge aggressive behaviors.
- Appreciate non-traditional qualities.
Fathers can encourage daughters to explore a full range of possibilities for their lives by expressing appreciation for daughters' non-traditional qualities.
- Discuss difficult issues without judgment.
Fathers who learn to listen actively without blaming, minimizing or judging can strengthen relationships with their daughters. This also provides space for fathers to counsel without regret.
- Share decision-making equitably.
The process of sharing ideas in a respectful way is as important as resolving a situation. In interactions with their daugthers, fathers are used to coming up with "the answer" to a challenge or conflict, but allowing open discussion leaves space for girls to explore their own ideas with confidence.
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