Building Trust and Mutual Respect: Strengthening Families Through the Rethabile "Happy Together" Parenting Program

The Rethabile positive parenting activity is being run by 4Children Lesotho with caregivers and teens ages 9 to 24  for the purpose of reducing harsh parenting practices (i.e., violence) and improving positive parenting practices.  By promoting adult–child communication around topics such as HIV and AIDS prevention, and exploring models of family-focused violence prevention and support, the program facilitates disclosure of HIV status, promotes greater treatment seeking and adherence, and helps to reduce HIV stigma.

This case study details the curriculum, results, lessons learned and recommendations from implementing Rethabile.  The findings of the case study will be of interest to other projects seeking to reduce harsh parenting and impact HIV outcomes through strengthened caregiver-child relationships.