How far do parenting programmes help change norms underpinning violence against adolescents? Evidence from low and middle-income countries
Objectives
The article aimed to assess how far parenting programmes in low- and middle-income countries help change norms that underpin violence against adolescents, including child marriage. It drew on a narrative review of 42 programmes and focused on 17 initiatives that sought to reduce neglect, physical, emotional or sexual violence, or child marriage, examining their impacts and the norm-change strategies they used
Findings
Most programmes improved parents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, with nine of eleven initiatives reporting reductions in physical or emotional violence against adolescents and better communication or monitoring. Evidence of impact on sexual violence and child marriage was more limited and mixed, with some programmes showing modest gains in parents’ acceptance of girls’ choice over whom and when to marry, while others showed no significant change. Programmes that explicitly discussed social and gender norms, used participatory group sessions and were grounded in formative research showed the strongest potential to shift the “bedrock” of attitudes underlying norms, but few measured norms directly, most were small-scale pilots, and effects often weakened over time.
Recommendations
The authors recommend that parenting programmes place greater and more explicit emphasis on gender and social norms, combining new information with opportunities to practise non-violent discipline and communication in peer groups. They argue that interventions should expand their reach and be embedded within schools, health systems and community structures to enable scale and sustainability, with deliberate strategies to engage fathers and other male caregivers. They also call for longer-term evaluations, better measures of normative change and stronger linkages to economic and social support so that parenting programmes can more effectively reduce violence, including child marriage, and sustain change over time.
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