Focus of recent public policy in Brasil, this article calls into question the notion of parental responsibility. In particular, it is analyzed the actions developed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul aiming the promotion of "responsible parenthood" as a form of preventing crime. The main objective is to understand how legitimizing discourses around the father figure are constructed in such context. The analysis deconstructs the meaning attributed to the notion of "responsible father". Within this context, there are four key points to understand these actions: 1. the emergence of the father as a figure of interest; 2. the construction of a causal relationship between father absence and crime; 3. the meaning associated with responsibility in the call for responsible parents; and 4. the image constructed in such actions.
fatherhood, crime; social psychology; responsibility