by | February 17, 2014 · 12:01 pm

Parent Abuse Action Coalition moves for legislation in Florida

Please take the time to look at and support the work of Homer Hartage and colleagues, through the Hartage Youth Enrichment Foundation, in Florida, USA.

The Parent Abuse Action Coalition mission is the creation of a coordinated response from federal, state or local government to Parent Abuse similar to what currently exist for Elder Abuse regulations, to get legislation submitted in all 50 states and create responsive services for parents.

Hartage was very moved by the death of Rosemary Pate at the hands of her 19 year old son after years of abuse (more here and here) and is working to create support systems so that this need not happen again.

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by | February 14, 2014 · 10:24 am

A sensitive documentary

I have written in the past about speaking to the media, and some time ago I also blogged about a television company who had been commissioned to produce a documentary about parent abuse. This programme is no longer in production, but I had a very interesting meeting yesterday with Nick Poyntz of PopkornTV who has been brought on board as Director for a programme commissioned by Channel 5. Popkorn have also been pursuing this idea for a while but Nick has brought a new lease of life to the project. We spent over an hour exploring the need for sensitivity, understanding of the ethical issues, input from families into the editing process, and underlying agenda. Nick assures me that there is no hidden story, simply as desire to show the levels of family violence many people experience, to raise awareness and perhaps contribute as a result to campaigning within the policy arena. “My aim, on this project as with all my films, is to make a collaborative documentary which not only gets to the heart of the issues but also benefits those involved.” Continue reading →

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by | February 9, 2014 · 4:53 pm

Research bits and bobs

A couple of useful links this week regarding research into parent abuse….

Dr Amanda Holt has set up a jiscmail distribution list for researchers and practitioners with an interest in adolescent to parent violence. It is designed to provide a forum for exchange of ideas, research, information and events about this issue, and is configured as a public list that anyone can subscribe to, with publically-available archives. For those interested in joining the list, the link is here.

Dr Remy Vink is involved in research into child to parent violence in the Netherlands, in a study commissioned by children’s charity, Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland. The work has looked at how often domestic violence agencies and the police are confronted with cases of domestic violence committed by young people (12 – 23 years of age), as well as the types of violence. The study will be completed with a fact sheet and recommendations. More information here. You can also follow Dr Vink on twitter.

Finally, I have set up a twitter list to make it easier to catch up with posts or tweets from those involved in the field. If you use twitter you can subscribe to the list by following this link. If you would like to be added to the list then just let me know!

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by | February 3, 2014 · 10:10 pm

Early Intervention Foundation report into the impact of Domestic Violence

The importance of intervening early on to support families experiencing domestic violence was underlined again last week with the launch of the report from the Early Intervention Foundation, Domestic Violence and Abuse, which considers the impact on children of witnessing such violence. It’s hard to believe that we once minimised the harm of such experience, provided children were in another room at the time. The children themselves could have told a different story of course. While recognising that progression from witness to perpetrator is far from inevitable, the report warns of the dangers of not intervening, and urges work to enable children to process their experiences and make more healthy relationships for themselves. Previous experience of domestic violence has been found in many studies to be strongly correlated with parent abuse, though by no means the only or greatest cause. Continue reading →

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by | January 28, 2014 · 4:07 pm

Why telling people they are bad parents is not the answer

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 →

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by | January 24, 2014 · 10:21 pm

“I promise you we’ll do some more investigation”

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 →

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by | January 20, 2014 · 9:47 pm

Unusual intervention of the week #1

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 →

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by | January 7, 2014 · 6:13 pm

Teenagers Speak

I was very moved to hear the Teens’ Speech on the radio last weekend and thought it worth linking to here.

Kate Tempest, performance poet, presents her specially commissioned piece which was written for the 2009 Barnardo’s Teens’ Speech project.

The full 17 minute film from the project can also be viewed here.

A reminder that each one of us is individual, complex and sensitive in our own way.

A positive story to start the new year.

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by | January 1, 2014 · 12:01 am

A good year, and more to come.

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 →

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by | December 23, 2013 · 5:55 pm

Adolescent Violence in the Home: website and video

I have written in the past about the Peninsula Health ‘Adolescent Violence in the Home’ project in Victoria, Australia, which has been running for the last two years.

This week I was sent details of the website which has been developed as part of the work, and which gives a link to an animation which clearly and succinctly lays out what is understood about adolescent violence in the home. The film is Australia-specific in that it refers to particular services, but could otherwise be used very successfully as an introduction to the issue for professionals or families.

A final research report should be available in February 2014.

I am grateful to the Peninsula Health team for making the material available and for permission to link to it here.

This post updated 18th January 2017 with new website link

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