Instead of being overlooked, perpetrators of violence against women should be persuaded to join the fight for eliminating gender-based violence, speakers said at a workshop yesterday.

A section of the male population that is already fighting violence against women should play a more active role to make offenders realise their guilt, they said.

They were addressing the workshop titled "Boys and Men Engagement to Reducing Gender based violence" at Dhaka U niversity's Senate Bhaban.

Women and gender studies department of DU and Center for Men and Masculinities Studies organised the workshop.

Tania Haque, chairperson of the department, said the traditional perspective of wholesale branding of wrongdoers should be changed.

"This often results in them [offenders) carryingout the offence again.... So engagement of defaulters in the fight against violence through proper counselling is a must," she added.

Senait Gebregziabher, country director of Plan International Bangladesh, said as academicians and students are attending discussions and workshops focusing on role of men and boys in fighting violence against women, these programmes would be effective in achievingtheir goals.