GEMA Gender, Masculinities and Gender-Based Violence
2022–2024 · Completed project

Fathers’ Rock

Fathers’ Engagement in the Role Of Care Keeping Mothers and Children Safe

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Fathers’ Rock aims to prevent gender-based and domestic violence by strengthening the role of men who are (or are becoming) fathers. The project builds on evidence showing that fathers’ involvement in caregiving supports child well-being and healthy relationships, while recognising that the perinatal and early-parenthood period can also involve increased stress, conflict and risk of violence.

The project develops a coordinated, multi-agency prevention model that connects perinatal services, early childhood systems, social services and perpetrator programmes. It seeks to enhance men’s emotional and social competencies, improve institutional capacity to engage fathers in caring roles, and reinforce early detection and prevention mechanisms within family support systems.

Why it matters — Fathers’ Rock

Fatherhood represents both a critical opportunity and a potential risk period. When fathers are supported to engage positively in caregiving and to strengthen their emotional and relational skills, families benefit and the likelihood of violence decreases. By promoting coordinated institutional responses and early preventive action, the project contributes to reducing gender-based and domestic violence and fostering safer, healthier family environments from the very beginning of parenthood.

Core Objectives

  1. Strengthen fathers’ emotional, relational and caregiving skills to support healthy family relationships.
  2. Enhance institutional and service-level responses to engage fathers constructively and promote accountability.
  3. Improve frontline professionals’ capacity to identify early risk indicators and prevent domestic violence.
  4. Promote caring masculinities and gender-equal parenting as a prevention strategy.

Key Actions

  • Strengthening men’s emotional and social capacities and parenting skills.
  • Improving institutional engagement to promote caring fatherhood and gender equality.
  • Enhancing service capacity to involve fathers and reduce the risk of violence.
  • Supporting professionals to identify early signs of domestic violence and motivate accountability.

Outputs

Materials produced by the project. Where a public link is available it is included below.

Manual for Fathers’ Groups
Training manual for perinatal and early childhood professionals
Multi-agency Cooperation Model
Awareness Raising Materials
Online event: Raising engagement & accountability of men to become caring fathers

Additional resources

Partners

WWP EN – European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence WWP EN – European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence Germany Associació Conexus Associació Conexus Spain CAM – Centro di Ascolto Uomini Maltrattanti CAM – Centro di Ascolto Uomini Maltrattanti Italy
VMG – Verein für Männer- und Geschlechterthemen Steiermark VMG – Verein für Männer- und Geschlechterthemen Steiermark Austria
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