A lot more bits and pieces from around the world in the last weeks…..
Good to see the Daphne RCPV website is now up and running. You will find it here, with information about the project and research as a whole, conferences and training events linked to the programme, ways to get involved and a link to the RCPV blog. Recent posts cover the progress of the research in the different participating countries: Sweden, Spain, Bulgaria and Ireland. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, projects, publications, Research, Training opportunities
Reading around, and attending conferences recently, I have been impressed with the work of practitioners in the area of early childhood trauma, such as Jane Evans and Kate Cairns. Understanding of the physiological impact of stress, fear and uncertainty makes sense of children’s later behaviour, when apparently innocuous events can trigger responses which may not even be understood by the child themselves. This is particularly pertinent to the field of parent abuse where it has been suggested that almost half of abusing young people have experienced domestic violence in their past or current home life.
Watching film such as this, makes it all the more real. Originally made to raise awareness in the training of foster parents, ReMoved shows the devastating emotional impact on children of living with domestic violence.
ReMoved stands as a powerful and eloquent call for early intervention to enable children to be safe, and to come to terms with their experiences.
Filed under Discussion, Film
When the issue of fining parents for allowing their children to arrive late to school, for persistent non-attendance, or for taking them on holiday in term-time comes up – as it does regularly – it arouses a whole mixture of emotions and responses, in me and in the public at large. Add to the mix the suggestion that ‘good citizen neighbours’ should be wading in, or that telling people they are bad parents will bring about the desired effect, and you’ve pressed enough of my buttons for me to go firing off at random in all directions!
Many of the issues were addressed admirably in the Guardian last week by Patrick Fagan here and by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett here. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, news reports
Following on from the fantastic UK media coverage of parent abuse in the second half of last year, the radio features and interviews have continued through January.
This week both Eddie Nestor, on his BBC Radio London Drive Time programme (01.21.50 – 01.26.26), and BBC Radio Oxford’s Phil Gayle with the Breakfast show (01.40.18 – 01.44.48) have brought children’s violence to parents to the attention of listeners. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, news reports, radio and video
More used to the offer of craft, drama or DJing as an activity to engage young people in work addressing parent abuse, I was intrigued to hear about the use of horses in therapy, specifically as an aid to understanding emotions and relationships.
HorseHeard is a not-for-profit social enterprise company with the tag line, “Experiential learning through interaction with horses”. For those not so used to being around these beasts, horses are apparently very sensitive to non-verbal communication, mood or intention and provide instant feedback to those working with them. As such they have been useful in enabling people to explore and understand feelings of self-awareness, communication or, of particular interest here, issues around parenting or challenging behaviour. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, projects
It has been a real privilege to be engaged in the work to raise awareness of child to parent violence over the last year; and indeed in compiling this blog and the accompanying pages. It has seemed as if 2013 has been the year that things have really taken off in the UK, with one major piece of research reported and others underway in Britain, attracting huge media attention. Despite budget cuts local authorities have found money for training events, as children’s violence has become such an issue in their work. Projects and responses have emerged across all disciplines as the need has been identified. Significant work has been done by the Youth Offending Service in promoting good practice and publicising the work of specialist projects. Elsewhere a pilot is well underway in Victoria, Australia, and papers are emerging from around the world as practitioners and academics seek to understand the phenomenon and support families in distress. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion
When I speak with people about children’s violence to parents, the question of terminology regularly raises its head: How helpful is it to talk about ‘victim’ and ‘perpetrator’ in cases of parent abuse? So this post has been in the making for some time, but was finally brought into being after I was sent a link to a piece in the Sheffield Star last week. It may be lacking a few references so please feel free to comment on this with links to relevant articles.
The news piece itself is very clear in identifying the 20 year old man as the perpetrator of violence, and the mother as the victim. We may agree or not that the judge overstepped the mark in his summing up; but read through to the comments stream and a dissenting voice emerges – as well as a reminder not to jump to conclusions without knowing all the circumstances. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, news reports
As the new Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, takes up her post this month, it looks as if her appointment may herald positive moves within the parent abuse field.
As she drew near to the end of her term as London’s Chief Crown Prosecutor, Saunders spoke in an interview of the disturbing scale of abuse perpetuated by teens against their parents and seen in the courts, with news that more than 50 boys and girls aged 13 or under, and nearly 850 older juveniles have been prosecuted for domestic violence in the past three and a half years in London alone (includes parent abuse and teenage relationship abuse). This follows the publication of the findings of the Oxford University based research which found 1892 incidents of violence in the home (including damage to property) by 13 – 19 year olds reported to the Metropolitan police between 2009 and 2010 (and here). Saunders was at pains to state that such abuse was not confined to one section of society, but drew attention to the issue of nurturing as linked to the apparent growing lack of respect within families. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion
“Mental disorders cost the economy more than £100bn a year” …. “2 million more adults and 100,000 more children will need treatment in 2030” … “a reduction in the number of people across the UK developing mental disorders appears to us to be the only way that mental health services will adequately cope with demand in 20-30 years’ time”. Soundbites from a recent piece in the Guardian, reflecting anxiety within the NHS as a whole that the money just won’t stretch far enough; and similar discussions abound whether with regard to physical health, education, criminal justice, social care …. The list goes on. So how to fund something new, such as services for families experiencing child to parent violence, at this time of budgetary constraints and cuts, might seem to be a question too far. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion
Over the last weeks a number of things have caught my attention and I thought it worth while bringing them all together here before they get lost.
A new journal article from Mounir H Fawzi, Mohab M Fawzi & Amira A Fouad, Parent abuse by adolescents with first-episode psychosis in Egypt, Journal of Adolescent Health, published online 16.08.13 (abstract here). The purpose of the research was to determine rates of parent abuse among this group of adolescents presenting at outpatients, and to identify the association between parent abuse and a number of socioeconomic and clinical factors. I found the article interesting for a number of reasons. It does not seem so long a time since people were asking whether parent abuse was a phenomenon confined to western societies with particularly lax forms of parenting, yet time and time again there are news items and articles emerging from societies right across the world. The findings show clear bias towards sons as abusers and mothers as victims, (apologies for the terminology which I know is uncomfortable for some people). Once again parent abuse is described as a taboo, a hidden problem, and there is a call for greater awareness raising, education and support. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, publications, Research
HOLES IN THE WALL 