It was great to see us included in this piece in the Guardian by Moya Crockett: ‘My child would use anything as a weapon’: the parents who live in fear of their offspring | Parents and parenting | The Guardian
Category Archives: publications
The Guardian Highlights the Reality of CAPVA—And Why It Needs More Attention
Filed under news reports, publications
The experiences of families caring for children with FASD: “no one came to help”
It is suggested that the prevalence of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is greater than autism, and yet there remains significantly less understanding of this issue, information for families and practitioners, and support for those impacted by the condition. In 2023, Waite and Burd reported that “At an estimated prevalence of up to five percent in the general population, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are the most common neurodevelopmental disorder”.
Continue readingFiled under Discussion, publications, Research
Hear ME project published
Dhriti Suresh-Eapen and AVA are thrilled to publish the findings and recommendations from their Hear ME project today.
This one-year small scope project sought to centre the experiences of mothers experiencing violence and abuse from their adult children, and to start to fill a massive gap in understanding and policy recommendations. Over the course of many months, the research team heard from those on the frontline, both as parents and as practitioners, before formulating a series of proposals which are brought together in this report.
Continue readingFiled under Announcements, Policy, projects, publications, Research
CAPVA Briefing Papers free to download
I am absolutely delighted to finally launch a series of Briefing Papers on the topic of child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse (CAPVA), which I have had in mind to create for over 5 years, and which Vicky Baker has now most wonderfully helped to bring to realisation over the last few months!
The idea grew from an increasing number of calls to discuss a range of particular angles on child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse, but which inevitably began with a half hour spent explaining what we were talking about before getting down to the meat of the conversation. It was clear that there was a space for a succinct overview of the main issues to do with CAPVA in a way that could be digested in a short space of time, and that would be equally helpful for anyone coming to this issue fresh – whether as a practitioner, a commissioner, a journalist, or indeed as a politician.
Working together with the benefit of having recently completed the rapid literature review for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, with a wealth of knowledge from Vicky’s PhD studies, and with the background of many years listening to people about their experience and work, we have written 3 separate papers, each with three pages, explaining in turn what we mean by the term child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse, why it happens, and what can be done to support families
The finished 3 papers are free* to download, and we hope that you will feel able to share them widely with colleagues and even to use them in your own work as the need arises.
Inevitably, with a topic about which we continue to learn on a daily basis, they will need updating as ideas evolve and understanding develops, and so you are encouraged to offer comments and feedback. Let us know if they have been useful, how they were used, what else would have been good – bearing in mind that if they get much larger they will cease to be briefing sheets and will be a book instead!
A massive thank you to Vicky for all the work she put in to these. They honestly would never have happened without her.
Download Briefing Paper 1: What’s the Problem? here
Download Briefing Paper 2: Why does CAPVA happen? here
Download Briefing Paper 3: So what can we do? here
* Some people have suggested we should be charging for these. We have decided to keep them entirely free to download and we hope many people will do so. However, if you would prefer to make a monetary contribution, then please feel free to donate to a local charity supporting families suffering any type of abuse.
Filed under Announcements, publications
A Response to the Review of Children’s Social Care
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has been published less than a week, but there have already been many, many responses, analyses and commentaries. Most speak from their own particular interest angle, and that is what I will try to do, though I would like to make some general comments first.
As a social worker I have thoughts on the whole report and – full disclosure – my first qualified job was within a patch team where we served a small neighbourhood, working to build protective relationships and activate community initiatives, as well as providing direct support and intervention; so I am all in favour of small, locally based teams working together across different disciplines in a way that is defined by the neighbourhood itself, intervening early on before difficulties are entrenched or crisis point is reached.
Continue readingFiled under Policy, publications
Understanding CAPVA: a rapid literature review
Last week saw the launch of a report commissioned by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Office and produced by Respect, Understanding CAPVA – a rapid literature review of child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse (CAPVA). I was privileged to co-author the report with Dr Vicky Baker, who recently completed her PhD at UCLan, exploring young people’s accounts of using violence and abuse towards parents.
Filed under Announcements, publications
“Sharper focus and more detailed planning” needed for parents experiencing CPV
The need to work remotely during the Covid19 pandemic – and particularly during lockdown – has been challenging for practitioners and families alike. Some have managed to embrace new ways of working, even questioning the assumptions of old methods; others have struggled whether because of the vagaries of technology, skills, specific needs or the particular group of people being supported. Research into ways of working through the pandemic has already revealed much that is good and much that needs improvement, and so I was interested to read the HMIP report into the Covid19 Inspection of Youth Offending Services: A thematic review of the work of youth offending services during the COVID-19 pandemic Nov 2020 Continue reading
Filed under publications
What works in CPV?
Just leaving this with you: an excerpt from the CSC Innovation Programme Newsletter of November 2020 which has just dropped in to my inbox, on the publication of the final Innovation Programme and Partners in Practice Evaluation Report. The Innovation Programme has been running since 2014, to test and share new ways of working with vulnerable children and young people. It is the intention of the Department for Education, that the findings should inform future practice, policy and funding decisions. Continue reading
Filed under publications, Research
Lockdown brings differential impacts regarding #CPV, but the need for a strategic response is greater still
One of the remarkable things about Lockdown globally has been the speed with which researchers have been able to shed important light on the impact of the COVID pandemic, whether in terms of education, mental health, domestic abuse – and not to forget child and adolescent to parent violence – with a view to developing future policy and practice. The spectre of future resurgences, and lockdowns forces us all to reconsider how we go about supporting individuals and families in this new world-order where face to face contact may not be possible, and where we have significant catching up to do still in the delivery of services in different ways.
Today saw the publication of a fast-evidence project from Dr Rachel Condry and Dr Caroline Miles looking at the experiences of child and adolescent to parent violence in the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of the experience of abuse itself, and in terms of the support available. The researchers obtained personal testimony from parents and practitioners through the use of on-line surveys, and looked at police data obtained through FOI requests to support their findings. This work builds on their ground breaking research of 2013 which looked at Metropolitan police data over the course of a year. Continue reading
Filed under publications, Research
#CPV Resources for Practitioners
The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare in Victoria has taken a strong interest in the issue of child / adolescent to parent violence and abuse, recognising gaps in knowledge and understanding through their work on Family Violence. “Funded by Family Safety Victoria (FSV) and in consultation with Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic), the Centre is leading this state-wide initiative aimed at identifying, translating and embedding the best available research and practice expertise to build the evidence base in relation to adolescents who use violence in the home.” The project aligns with recommendations in the Royal Commission into Family Violence and Roadmap for Reform: Strong Families, Safe Children, about bridging knowledge gaps and providing appropriate supportive interventions which recognise that young people can simultaneously cause harm and require care and support themselves. Continue reading
Filed under publications
HOLES IN THE WALL 