Supporting the relationship between mother and child within the context of domestic violence: a pilot parenting programme in Surkhet, Midwestern Nepal

This paper describes the experience of a group based parenting programme for mothers with past, or ongoing, domestic violence experience in Surkhet district, Midwestern Nepal. Twenty women took part in the programme, with meetings every three weeks over a period of nine months. The results, after data triangulation, showed significant improvements for the majority of caregivers with respect to: (a) increased understanding of children's attitudes, feelings and behaviours; (b) improvements in management of conflict situations within the family; and (c) greater empowerment and self-confidence. Some of the main challenges encountered by the facilitators while running the sessions are discussed. This encouraging experience suggests that a combination of programmes, using behaviour, relationship and psychotherapeutic approaches, can be a source of support to reduce negative parent/child interactions for mothers harmed by violence. Presenting this study provides an opportunity to examine some of the current challenges of supporting parenting skills within violent environments.