Changing Behaviours, Shifting Norms to End Violent Discipline
in the Middle East and North Africa
Highlights
Changing Behaviours, Shifting Norms to End Violent Discipline in MENA: Evidence Review
This Evidence Review examines the scale, drivers and consequences of violent discipline in the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on how SBC approaches can support prevention and response. Drawing on national surveys, peer-reviewed literature, UNICEF reports and regional evidence, the review shows that violent discipline remains highly prevalent across the region, affecting children in homes, schools and communities. It highlights how physical punishment, psychological aggression and severe physical punishment are shaped by a complex interplay of individual, family, community, institutional and societal factors, including parental stress, gender and social norms, poverty, conflict, weak legal protections and limited access to positive parenting support.
This review provides a strong evidence base for designing more effective, context-specific SBC and child protection interventions. It identifies promising programming approaches, including parenting and family support, school-based interventions, social service workforce strengthening, gender and social norms programming, advocacy and legal reform. It also offers practical recommendations for strengthening evidence-driven, multi-level and multi-sectoral action to promote positive discipline, shift harmful norms and create safer, more protective environments for children across MENA.
Changing Behaviours, Shifting Norms to End Violent Discipline in MENA: Methods and Standards Guide
This Methods and Standards Guide is a practical resource for UNICEF teams, partners and practitioners working to prevent and reduce violent discipline through SBC approaches. Building on the accompanying Evidence Review, this guide translates evidence into actionable programming guidance for designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating interventions that address violent discipline in homes, schools and communities. It supports programme teams to understand the behavioural, social and structural drivers of violent discipline, identify feasible solutions, engage key stakeholders, and promote positive parenting and non-violent discipline practices.
Organized around four programme phases — Understand, Co-Design, Deliver and Evaluate — the guide sets out minimum quality standards, practical steps, examples, indicators and checklists that can be adapted to different country contexts and programming stages. It emphasizes multi-level action across the Social Ecological Model (SEM), from individual caregivers and families to schools, communities, institutions, policy environments and broader social norms. The guide is expected to help - strengthen the quality, consistency and impact of SBC programming to end violent discipline and support every child’s right to grow up free from violence.
