Measuring Gender Transformation Among Caregivers and Children: Findings from implementing the SAFE FAMILIES approach in Zambia

This study investigated gendered attitudes to childcare and household chores among caregivers and children participating in the Safe Families approach in the Copperbelt province of Zambia. Safe Families is Save the Children’s common approach to reducing physical and humiliating punishment in the home – the most common form of violence against children around the world. The study sought to test the approach’s effectiveness in transforming attitudes relating to men and women’s roles in the home, and to gather learning on the use of new measurement tools for the common approach. Findings indicated a positive improvement relating to caregivers’ and children’s gendered attitudes to childcare and chores following the Safe Families project. It also found that male and female caregivers who agreed that men should take an active role in caring for their children reported more positive relationships with their children.