A mapping of parenting support policies worldwide to prevent violence against children

BACKGROUND: While recent systematic reviews indicate that parenting interventions reduce negative parenting behaviours, including child maltreatment, only 26 % of governments worldwide indicate that parenting support programs reach all parents in their country.

OBJECTIVE: This mapping study investigates which countries have a government policy to provide such parenting support aimed at reducing child-directed violence.

SETTING: To analyse parenting support within the broad cultural and historical contexts, this study covers all 194 countries and territories worldwide.

METHODS: A systematic stepwise online search was conducted to establish the existence, or not, of a parenting support policy to prevent violence against children and in the case that a policy was identified, the sectoral policy portfolio in which the policy was published.

RESULTS: Findings showed that almost half of countries globally have a policy relating to parenting support to prevent child maltreatment. The highest concentration of such policies is in the European, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific Regions and globally parenting support are mainly stand-alone policies or embedded within a child protection policy.

CONCLUSIONS: Ideas around parenting support have evolved over time however the link between policy and practice as well as the reality of implementation modalities remains unclear. The translation of policy to practice merits further attention if we want to reach every parent in the world who needs it.