The REAL Fathers Initiative is a community-based mentoring program that works with young Ugandan fathers (16-25 years old) who are parenting a child 1-3 years old. REAL aims to:

• Improve parenting attitudes and confidence in using nonviolent discipline
• Decrease use of intimate partner violence and physical punishment of children
• Foster acceptance of non-traditional gender roles in parenting

A mentoring program and community awareness campaign were designed to reach young men before their expectations, attitudes and behaviors related to parenting and relationships are well established. In order to address underlying causes of domestic violence, the intervention is designed to challenge the gender norms and sexual scripts that often trigger coercion and violence in relationships and to teach effective parenting, communication, and problem-solving skills. Results from the evaluation showed positive effects of the intervention on increasing positive parenting practices, confidence in using nonviolent discipline, and lowering the odds of use of physical punishment, and use of psychological and verbal intimate partner violence.