Community mobilisation to support positive parenting

This policy brief details a project in Touwsranten, South Africa, that combined four evidence-based parenting programmes with a community-led social activation process. The initiative used participatory action research to establish shared community values, resulting in a decrease in corporal punishment, a reduction in children's behavioural problems (up to 33%), and improved parent mental health. Key success factors included the partnership with the Seven Passes Initiative and the implementation of contextually relevant activities like community clean-ups and family events.

• The project demonstrated that combining household-level parenting programmes with a social activation process led to warmer parenting behaviours, a reduction in corporal punishment, and improved outcomes for children in the Touwsranten community.
• Quantitative survey data showed a significant decrease in behavioural problems among children by the third wave of the study: a 33% decrease for children in the younger age group and a 21% decrease for those in the older age group.
• The intervention contributed to a decline in reported parenting stress and symptoms of parent mental health, as well as a slight reduction in intimate partner violence.
• Participatory action research using 'Action Media' allowed community members to identify common values and aspirations, which were then translated into tangible communication tools including a logo, a manifesto, songs, and a slogan.
• Community-led social activation activities—such as street clean-ups, repairing play park equipment, and hosting family fun days—strengthened community cohesion, increased pride, and provided new opportunities for parent-child bonding.
• The sustainability of the project's momentum relied on a partnership between community members and a local non-governmental organisation (the Seven Passes Initiative), providing administrative support and ongoing dialogue-reflection-action processes.

APA

Parker, W., Gould, C., Ward, C., Kleyn, L., Dippenaar, W., Kennedy, S., Ruiters, J., & Buys, N. (2020). Community mobilisation to support positive parenting. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief148.pdf

Chicago

Parker, Warren, Chandré Gould, Catherine Ward, Lisa Kleyn, Wilmi Dippenaar, Sheridan Kennedy, John Ruiters, and Naizel Buys. Community mobilisation to support positive parenting. Institute for Security Studies, 2020. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief148.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{parker2020community, author = {Parker, Warren and Gould, Chandré and Ward, Catherine and Kleyn, Lisa and Dippenaar, Wilmi and Kennedy, Sheridan and Ruiters, John and Buys, Naizel}, title = {{Community mobilisation to support positive parenting}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2020}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief148.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }