Child maltreatment – physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect – occurs most frequently at the hands of parents and caregivers. Studies reveal that nearly 3 in 4 children aged 2-4 years regularly suffer physical punishment and/or psychological violence, and 1 in 5 women and 1 in 13 men report having been sexually abused as children. Such violence has pervasive and long-lasting consequences, including increased risk for injuries, disabilities, infectious and chronic diseases, and mental health problems; engagement in high-risk behaviours such as smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, and unsafe sex; and higher likelihood of involvement in violence against others and oneself.

Child maltreatment is, however, preventable, with a now substantial evidence base showing that interventions to assist parents and caregivers in developing safe, sustainable, and nurturing relationships with their children are effective in reducing maltreatment. Through these interventions parents learn new skills and behaviours to improve the way they relate to their child while parental knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings are also enhanced. 

New World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines draw upon this evidence and make five recommendations, stating that evidence-based parenting interventions should be made readily accessible to all parents and caregivers of children aged 0-17 years, with specific recommendations covering parents of children at different stages of development in the age ranges 0-3 years, 2-10 years, and 10-17 years, and those living in humanitarian settings. They note that such interventions can be delivered in group-based or individualized formats through government health, education and social services or through partner organizations.

Commenting on the importance of parenting interventions, Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department of Social Determinants of Health, notes that “Violence against children in all its forms constitutes a public health crisis. The reality is that all parents and caregivers need some support, and some need all the support they can get. These new WHO guidelines cover the full spectrum of need. The positive effects of parenting interventions have been shown across all settings and for children younger and older, including those in high-risk families.”   

The WHO guidelines offer details on the essential components of effective parenting interventions, and the impact that parenting interventions have in increasing positive parenting behaviours and reducing child maltreatment and harsh parenting, child behavioural and mental health problems, and parental mental health problems and stress. In addition, they assess parenting interventions in respect of several implementation criteria including financial and economic considerations; health equity, equality, and non-discrimination, and human rights and socio-cultural acceptability.

The guidelines complement several other WHO-led resources for preventing violence against children and enhancing child development, including the INSPIRE: seven strategies for ending violence against children technical package and the Nurturing care framework. 

Source: WHO

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240065505