Key Findings There are few studies that explicitly assess the impact of specific family protection programmes. A larger number of studies highlight a range of positive and negative impacts associated with national and international efforts to make security and judicial systems more responsive to family protection issues. A lack of data makes rigorous evaluation of the impact of family protection programmes and cross-country comparative work very difficult. The majority of evidence focuses on programme outcomes, and most studies do not assess the wider impacts of these programmes.
Where there is evidence of the broader impact of these programmes, findings are generally positive. The case studies examined in this report provide evidence to suggest that these programmes have been effective, both in improving the way in which family protection issues are handled and in changing attitudes towards crimes against women and children. In most cases, however, discussion of positive impacts is accompanied by reports of major constraints in the impact of these initiatives and, in some cases, by negative impacts.
