Programme helps reduce family violence, abuse

A REDUCTION in family violence, abuse and neglect of children, have been noticed in families and communities who have been through the parenting for childhood development programme, a study shows.
Supported by the Australian United Nations Children’s Education Fund (Unicef), the study found that parents exposed to the programme, had applied positive child rearing parenting practices and spent time to create safe spaces for their children.
Among the fathers who reported strong child-parent relations, 73 per cent said they now spent more time with their children, playing games and teaching them to behave the right way.
The programme was developed in 2016 by Unicef PNG with the support of the Menzies School of Health Research at the Darwin University in Australia.
Unicef country representative Claudes Kamenga said the findings were significant “as they indicate a change in the mind-sets of parents about raising their children in a loving and caring way – crucial to the development and overall well-being of a child”.
The findings provided the evidence required to scale up the programme across the country, improve its content to end violence against women and children, and strengthening family bonds.
A majority of parents who benefitted have stopped hitting their children, 45 per cent no longer curse or swear at them and 63 per cent no longer neglect them.
More than 50 per cent of female spouses reported a reduction in violence inflicted on them by their husbands.