Peer-reviewed article
Interventions that prevent or respond to intimate partner violence against women and violence against children: a systematic review
Loraine Bacchus, Manuela Colombini, Isabelle Pearson, Aník Gevers, Heidi Stöckl et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined 30 interventions from 16 countries that aim to prevent or respond to intimate partner violence against women and violence against children by parents or caregivers. The review found that successful prevention programmes work through improved communication, conflict resolution, challenging harmful gender norms, and raising awareness of harms. Therapeutic programmes for women and children exposed to violence help them process trauma and recognize unhealthy relationships. The review identified major gaps: response interventions are rare in low and middle-income countries, and programmes developed in wealthy countries may not work elsewhere without adaptation.
Key points
- 20 of 30 interventions targeted both intimate partner violence and violence against children together
- Key mechanisms in prevention include improved communication, conflict resolution, reflection on harmful gender norms, and awareness of consequences
- Therapeutic programmes for exposed women and children facilitate trauma engagement and promote relationship awareness
- Response interventions for violence are predominantly implemented in high-income countries, with major gaps in low and middle-income countries
- Evidence is limited for adolescent interventions and integrated prevention-response programmes in resource-limited settings
Limitations
The review does not report effect sizes or strength of evidence for individual interventions, and feasibility and cost-effectiveness of interventions in low and middle-income countries remain unclear. The document also does not detail which specific interventions were most effective or how programmes should be adapted for different settings.
Abstract
Efforts to prevent or respond to intimate partner violence (IPV) and violence against children (VAC) are still disparate worldwide, despite increasing evidence of intersections across these forms of violence. We conducted a systematic review to explore interventions that prevent or respond to IPV and VAC by parents or caregivers, aiming to identify common intervention components and mechanisms that lead to a reduction in IPV and VAC. 30 unique interventions from 16 countries were identified, with 20 targeting both IPV and VAC. Key mechanisms for reducing IPV and VAC in primary prevention interventions included improved communication, conflict resolution, reflection on harmful gender norms, and awareness of the adverse consequences of IPV and VAC on children. Therapeutic programmes for women and children who were exposed to IPV facilitated engagement with IPV-related trauma, increased awareness of the effects of IPV, and promoted avoidance of unhealthy relationships. Evidence gaps in low-income and middle-income countries involved adolescent interventions, post-abuse interventions for women and children, and interventions addressing both prevention and response to IPV and VAC. Our findings strengthen evidence in support of efforts to address IPV and VAC through coordinated prevention and response programmes. However, response interventions for both IPV and VAC are rare and predominantly implemented in high-income countries. Although therapeutic programmes for parents, caregivers, and children in high-income countries are promising, their feasibility in low-income and middle-income countries remains uncertain. Despite this uncertainty, there is potential to improve the use of health services to address IPV and VAC together.