by | November 16, 2017 · 10:43 am

“Maternal abuse by children”, preferred terminology in Spain?

An interesting read from the University of Granada – and a potential discussion starter!
In the UK we seem to have settled on phraseology around variations of Child to Parent Violence/Abuse, though this in itself does not fully cover abuse in family groupings such as fostering, kinship care or even residential settings.
There is similarly room for discussion around the gendered nature of the abuse, and I am sure a number of people will have comments to make on this.
However, I cannot personally comment on the situation in Spain, and I am happy to accept that different cultural patterns of child rearing and family life around the world will impact on the way this aspect of family violence plays out.
Worth following the links though for some further reading as well.
Please note that the text of the research paper itself is Spanish.

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by | November 13, 2017 · 10:33 am

CPV: Call for abstracts

Calling all academics and practitioners, working in the field of Violence Prevention …..

The Centre for Violence Prevention 2018 Annual Conference takes place at the University of Worcester on 4th – 5th June 2018, with the title: Violence Prevention at the Intersections of Identity and Experience. Abstracts are invited on a range of topics, including child to parent violence. Continue reading →

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by | November 11, 2017 · 5:27 pm

Safeguarding in practice?

This post from Michaela Booth comes at just the right time, following nicely from last week’s post. With thanks to National IRO Managers Partnership for bringing it to my attention.

 

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by | November 6, 2017 · 2:10 pm

Child to parent violence: the voice of the young person

I am very aware when writing and collating material for training purposes, that while we have significant contributions from parents affected by abuse and violence from their children, there is much less attention given to the voices of the young people concerned.

We are not without this completely. Interventions such as Break4Change specifically video young people as part of the programme, using their voices as part of a conversation with parents. Some of this material has been available in training and research reports. Television shows, such as My Violent Child, have at times included direct interviewing of the young person concerned. Books such as Anger is my Friend mediate the teenage voice though years of practice experience. Research reports may include testimony from young people, though often it will be as reported or interpreted by their parent. But Barbara Cottrell is unusual in devoting a whole chapter to the actual teenage voice in her book: When Teens Abuse Their Parents. Continue reading →

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by | October 31, 2017 · 2:47 pm

“He doesn’t mean to hurt”: the impact on families of violent behaviour from autistic children.

Another great programme from the BBC this week, available until November 28th. Victoria Derbyshire looked at the violence experienced by families of severely autistic children, and the difficulties for parents in obtaining support. (You can also read some of the stories here)

 

As well as introductions, and emails and texts from parents throughout the programme, there are two main sections to the item: a film from Noel Phillips (from 16.40 – 33.40), and interviews and discussion with three families and an MP (from 1.20.10 to 1.31.30). The programme ends with further calls from three families affected at 1.50.24. Some commentary is offered from the National Autistic Society, and the Local Government Association. You can view the whole of Noel Phillips’ film here. Continue reading →

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by | October 23, 2017 · 9:33 am

Child to parent violence and adoption disruption: Learn on the go

Learn on the go is a Community Care Inform series of podcasts, “where we discuss what the latest research findings mean to your practice”. The first episode of the series considers the issue of adoption disruption, summarising the research and discussing what can be learned from it. It includes interviews with Julie Selwyn, and Elaine Dibben, looking particularly at the groundbreaking report: Beyond the Adoption Order, as well as other linked papers. The website gives a fuller summary of the discussion, with timings and full references. Child to parent violence is unsurprisingly a big part of the discussion!

https://soundcloud.com/user-583610833-79340369/learn-on-the-go-adoption-disruption?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter

 

Finding this has inspired me to set up a new page which will offer links to audio and visual resources. I will continue to add to it as I find anything, so please send your own suggestions. Many thanks as always.

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by | October 16, 2017 · 3:51 pm

“It’s been an absolute nightmare”: report from Australia into kinship care

I am grateful to Eddie Gallagher for bringing a new report to my attention. “It’s been an absolute nightmare”, Family violence in kinship care, was published by Baptcare in September 2017. The report, written by Rachel Breman and Ann MacRae, draws on the responses to a survey of kinship carers in the state of Victoria, into the types, frequency and impact of family violence directed towards the kinship care placement, from close family members or from the child themselves. This group of people offers care to children in both statutory and voluntary placements, the true number of which may be significantly higher than the number known about. They were found to be particularly under-supported, and experienced additional risks, threats and actual violence because of the family link. Violence and abuse from the children and  young people themselves was associated with the experience of trauma and attachment issues. There is an interesting section on the reasons these families find it difficult to report the abuse. Recommendations are made for better understanding, training and service provision for these families. Continue reading →

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by | October 15, 2017 · 8:44 pm

Exploring Child to Parent Violence: PhD opportunity at Bradford University

This PhD is particularly concerned with adult children, where those children have learning difficulties or ASD diagnosis, and their violent, challenging behaviour is directed towards parents.

Project Description

To what extent is child to parent violence recognised within the legal system, as adults with challenging behaviours commit acts of violence against their parents and how is this experienced as an everyday occurrence?

Adolescent to parent violence (APV) has, in recent years, been recognised as something different to domestic violence. This is often due to the fact that those experiencing the violence are the parent, more often the mother, and therefore do not want their ‘child’ to face charges and go to prison. However, in the context of learning difficulties and ASD people who are violent towards family members are not always under 18 and so do not fit within the adolescent to parent age group.

What can we understand about this phenomenon? How does a parent, more often a mother, manage these practically volatile emotionally charged encounters? What can social care do to support these families without fear of the incarceration for their son or daughter? How can this contribute to a ‘safeguarding’ agenda?

We are looking for PhD students who would be able to carry out qualitative research with family members, offenders, or those who work within this challenging area.

 PLEASE NOTE: This opportunity is for self-funded students.
More information and application details here.

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by | October 9, 2017 · 10:35 am

“Not a solution, but a system”: Adoption and Fostering Podcast interview with Delyth Evans

Another cracking podcast from the Adoption and Fostering Podcast team!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Episode 26 features an interview with Delyth Evans, Service Manager at the Centre for Adoption and Support. Delyth and Al Coates talk about the experience of child to parent violence within adoptive families. I have been asked a lot recently about safety plans and so of particular interest to me were discussions about family safety planning and safe holding, and all within a context of safeguarding the whole family.

The Centre for Adoption Support offer a three stage support programme for families,

  • A 1 day workshop on child to parent violence
  • An introduction to the principles of NVR
  • A workshop on how to manage challenging behaviour at a practical level

and family safety plans are described as fundamental to the whole offer. The emphasis is very much on understanding the violence in context, rather than as a specific incident; and in supporting parents to find strategies to manage their child’s behaviour while keeping the whole family safe.

Well worth a listen!

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by | September 28, 2017 · 10:00 am

Unless we address the issues behind CPV, “we are committing children to failure”

Tuesday, this week, saw an explosion across the media within Britain of items on the challenges of adoption, particularly the impact of child to parent violence.

The BBC’s joint investigation with Adoption UK culminated in a 40 minute File on 4 radio programme, Adoption: Families in Crisis, which was picked up on national and local stations, and TV programmes such as Victoria Derbyshire; interviewing families and organisations and further unpacking the crises in which many families find themselves. Continue reading →

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