HOLES IN THE WALL

by helenbonnick | July 29, 2013 · 4:45 pm

You can’t afford to dabble

Can anyone respond to a referral of parent abuse? Since we are encouraging practitioners to recognise when child to parent violence is a feature of family function or dysfunction, what are people supposed to do next? How should they intervene? Do you need to follow an approved programme, or can you use practice that works in other settings?

A discussion with Sandra Ashley, Director of Hertfordshire Practical Parenting Programme, touched on these questions as we looked at the range of support programmes on offer and the training offered to facilitators. (You can learn more about some of these programmes on the Resources pages of this blog) Some of these programmes have commonalities. Others feel quite different in emphasis and style and in philosophical background. Meanwhile, bespoke parent abuse projects increasingly find that they are taking referrals from mainstream agencies that feel their own staff lack the necessary expertise (or time perhaps?), while initiatives such as that falling within the Troubled Families remit may be using practitioners from a range of backgrounds to tackle this among many other issues. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Child to parent violence, Hertfordshire Practical Parenting Programme, Parent abuse, Sandra Ashley, troubled families

by helenbonnick | July 19, 2013 · 9:13 am

Model students perpetrating abuse

If, like me, you prefer your maths concrete and you use things like a classroom of students as a unit of measurement, then you might find this image interesting. Courtesy of Ipswich Borough Council White Ribbon Day, it represents the number of students in a class likely to be perpetrating violence at home – those wearing ties. We can argue over the exact number, depending on the level of violence we are counting – and we might never know the true figure – but images like this can help to make something a bit more real and less of something happening out there to other people.

Photograph © Lorraine Arthur Continue reading →

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Tagged as Child to parent violence, non-attendance, P.E.A.C.E., Parent abuse, parents facing abuse from their teens

by helenbonnick | July 15, 2013 · 10:05 am

The law of unintended consequences

Today see the roll out of the welfare benefits cap across England, Wales and Scotland. What we are supposed to expect is that this will encourage families to find work or move to a different, cheaper area to live. Sadly, what we may see is a rise in violence and family break up. The Enemy Within, the 2012 report from the charity 4Children, using data from a specially commissioned YouGov Family Violence survey, highlights redundancy, long-term unemployment and serious financial worries as the major contributory factor in family violence. The dual pronged budgetary cuts to benefits and funding of services are thus especially worrying. Continue reading →

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Tagged as 4Children, Deborah Orr, domestic violence, Family violence, The enemy within, welfare benefits cap

by helenbonnick | July 4, 2013 · 1:37 pm

From witness to perpetrator: is it inevitable?

The recent Respect National Practitioners Seminar, held in London, featured a keynote speech from Professor David Gadd, of the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice at Manchester University. David reported on the findings of the three-year ESRC From Boys to Men project, in his speech: The Making and Unmaking of Domestic Abuse Perpetrators.

Essentially, the research has been examining why some young men go on to become domestic abuse perpetrators and others not; and then what can be done about it. Work such as this is incredibly important in a field such as parent abuse, where a significant amount is known about correlation, but less about causation. Continue reading →

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Tagged as AVA, Child sexual exploitation inquiry, David Gadd, Day Programme, domestic violence, Fiona Barakat, From boys to men, Hertfordshire PPP, Jo Sharpen, Julia Worms, Kate Iwi, Natalie Collins, Parent abuse, Peter Joseph, Positive Change, Rachel Young, relationship abuse, Respect, Safer London Foundation, Sandra Ashley, Xenia Solomou, Yuva

by helenbonnick | June 27, 2013 · 12:17 pm

Understanding is everything

You may have caught the controversial coverage of comments made a few weeks ago by a mother of 4 children with ADHD, the youngest of whom is violent to her on a daily basis. (Here and here) Jenny Young, herself diagnosed with ADHD, stated that if her husband had been violent in the same way she would have left him, and if her son were a dog she would have had him put down. But for parents like her there is no choice: “There isn’t a refuge for battered Mums”. Cue national outrage. Continue reading →

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Tagged as ADHD, Annie Clements, Autism and ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, battered mums, Child to parent violence, David Mitchell, Eddie Gallagher, Fiona Barakat, Jenny Young, Philip Schofield, Respect National Practitioners Seminar, The Reason I Jump, We Have a Voice, Who's in charge, Yuva

by helenbonnick | June 20, 2013 · 2:48 pm

No rules about controlling relationships

Coverage of an assault by Charles Saatchi on his wife Nigella Lawson, outside a London restaurant at the weekend, has sparked considerable debate in the press and on social media – not least as to why people felt it was OK to photograph and document events, rather than intervene.

Writing in the Telegraph, Iris McCann and Dr. Petra Boynton have used the opportunity to discuss the different faces of domestic abuse, and to offer advice to those who recognise their experience. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Charles Saatchi, Child to parent violence, controlling relationship, domestic violence, Dr. Petra Boynton, Iris McCann, Nigella Lawson, Parent abuse

by helenbonnick | June 10, 2013 · 3:54 pm

An update on Step Up in the UK

Today we have a guest post from LynetteRobinson, of Alternative Restoratives. Lynette is thrilled to have had her work in the field of parent abuse recognised by the Youth Justice Board, who have adopted her programme based on the American Step Up model.

Three years ago, I visited Youth Justice Teams in Seattle and Toledo (America) to observe their ‘Step Up – Building Respectful Family Relationships’ programmes, as part of my Winston Churchill Fellowship research ‘Interventions and restorative responses to address teen violence against parents’.

The parents and teens who attended these joint group work sessions seemed as interested in me (a UK visitor) as I was in them and their programme! During that first coffee break, one mother came over to me (with a puzzled look on her face) and asked “Do parents in England have this problem too?” Continue reading →

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Tagged as Alternative Restoratives, Lynette Robinson, Parent abuse, Step Up, Winston Churchill Fellowship, Youth Justice Board

by helenbonnick | June 7, 2013 · 10:24 am

Teens see violence as normal

Eddie Gallagher has drawn my attention to an article in www.dailylife.com.au, commenting on an apparent rise in domestic violence crimes in New South Wales involving juveniles as the aggressor. (A 6.5% increase between 2008 and 2012 in the 10 -17 age group) This increase comes at a time when overall figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show a decline in juvenile crime in every other area, and has sparked concerns that teens now see aggression as a normal part of life. Continue reading →

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Tagged as domestic violence, Eddie Gallagher, Respect, Who's in charge, young people's use of violence in close relationships, youth violence

by helenbonnick | June 4, 2013 · 10:43 am

Adolescent to parent abuse: the facts

I was interested to be sent this fact sheet recently, by Heather Nancarrow, Director of the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research, CQ University. The leaflet was produced to support parents who might be experiencing abuse from their children, with clear outlines of what counts as abusive behaviour, recognising how parents may be feelings and reminding them of their right to live free of abuse and violence. It is distributed (among other places) to police stations, one of the key places parents may first seek help. The addresses and contact details are of course only relevant to Australia, but the information given is useful to all; and the layout and presentation very attention grabbing.

It was one such leaflet that prompted this article in the Gladstone Observer, on May 31st.

The reporter took the opportunity to interview a police officer and a youth worker involved in supporting parents, as well as Nancarrow. Parents are urged to start disciplining their children early, recognise the signs of parent abuse, and to come forward for help if necessary. The article is a little confused in its structure, but its good to see the issue of child to parent violence receiving attention and recognition in the media again.

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Tagged as abuse from their children, adolescent to parent abuse, Child to parent violence, Heather Nancarrow, Parent abuse, Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research

by helenbonnick | May 29, 2013 · 4:47 pm

Child to Parent Violence: Insights from Spain

Over the last few months I have been conscious that this blog has focused very much on events in the UK, with some coverage of Australia and the US and little from elsewhere. But I am also aware that the readership spreads right across the world; and so I would like to try to bring some broader content to “balance” things out a little. I know that there is important work going on in many other countries, from reading bibliographies and from following news and events, through colleagues attending international conferences as well as from a google alert.

In this post I want to bring together some information regarding work on child to parent violence (CPV) in Spain. I would value any comments or contributions on this to further expand my knowledge. Similarly, I hope that practitioners and researchers from around the world will take the time to let us know what is going on where they are. We can all be encouraged in hearing of the progress and developments of others. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Barbara Cottrell, Brighton University, Calvete Orue and Gamez-Guadix, child to parent violence in Spain, CPV, domestic violence, Family violence, GAllagher, Gamez-Guadix and Calvete, Garcia and Gracia, Ibabe and Juareguizar, Ibabe Juareguizar and Bentler, Ibabe Juareguizar and Diaz, Irene Monsonis

HOLES IN THE WALL

You can’t afford to dabble

Model students perpetrating abuse

The law of unintended consequences

From witness to perpetrator: is it inevitable?

Understanding is everything

No rules about controlling relationships

An update on Step Up in the UK

Teens see violence as normal

Adolescent to parent abuse: the facts

Child to Parent Violence: Insights from Spain

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DOCUMENTING PARENT ABUSE

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