A lot has been written about the difficulties in adopting a safeguarding response to the issue of parent abuse. First of all, it falls outside the normative model of child as victim, to which the responses are generally geared; and the safeguarding of vulnerable adults guidance is not usually applied to the parents in these situations, as they are not considered vulnerable within the specific terms. Continue reading
Something to celebrate!
This week I celebrate one year of this blog.
When I first became aware of the issue of parent abuse, in the early 80s, we had no idea of what to suggest to help the parent who had approached us. By the time I engaged in some serious research, in 2004-6, there was a small but growing body of knowledge about this aspect of family violence, and a number of programmes had been developed, mostly in Australia, New Zealand and the USA and Canada. A year later, a discussion on parent abuse was one of the items in the BBC’s Woman’s Hour, a flagship radio programme, which goes out 6 days a week. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Parenting NI statistics show increase in calls for help
At the beginning of June, Parenting NI released figures showing a dramatic increase of 27% in the calls received by their helpline relating to teenage violence against parents. The figure was lower in the Northern Health Trust, with 17%, while the Western Health Trust showed a 30% increase. The statistics compare figures for 2010/2011 with the latest figures for calls from 2011/2012.
Charlene Brooks, Director for Parents Helpline, a project within Parenting NI reported: “The dramatic rise in parents calling the helpline because their teenage children are aggressive or violent towards them, is a worrying trend. Parents call the Parents Helpline for a variety of reasons – they are often worried about their child’s behaviour or family tensions, but recognise the importance of taking steps to get help for the situation. Through our Parenting Education Programmes we have also experienced an increase in parents telling us about ‘behavioural issues’ they are experiencing at home and many will eventually disclose that their teenage child is violent towards them. Understandably many parents are ashamed to admit that their child is aggressive or violent towards them and parents often don’t know where to turn for support.” Continue reading
Filed under news reports, projects
Alternative Restoratives: Training and awareness
Lynette Robinson, of Alternative Restoratives reports a busy but successful year for her organisation:
It has been a busy year for Alternative Restoratives in delivering awareness raising presentations at events across the UK and also a workshop at the International Conference for Restorative Practices (IIRP) held in Nova Scotia, Canada in June 2011. We have held two Professional Awareness Raising Days Understanding Adolescent to Parent Abuse, in September, 2011 and March 2012, in which parents as service users and professionals from the public, private and voluntary sectors shared their experiences in this issue. Both events were attended by delegates from a range of family service areas. Many went away with new awareness and understanding of this issue, and inspired to develop their own practice and services. It is wonderful to hear of the many new pilots that are now becoming established in many authorities across our country, and encouraging to know that awareness and understanding of this ‘hidden’ form of family violence is growing across professionals. Continue reading
Filed under Training opportunities
Pointing the finger at “Troubled Families”
The media buzzes again today with discussion about help for Cameron’s 120,000 “troubled families”. (BBC article here)
The term itself has fallen into disrepute, not least since revelations regarding the integrity of the statistical base for the government’s claims. (Tim Harford’s excellent radio article here) However, we are in danger of focusing so much on the blatant disregard of facts that we forget that there are indeed many families in dire need of help, whether the 120,000 experiencing multiple disadvantage, or the families (quantity unknown) about whom Cameron was actually talking. There will, presumably, be some overlap, but the suggestion that being poor, unwell or disabled, and in substandard housing, automatically qualifies you as a “neighbour from hell” is deeply offensive. In a post today, Declan Gaffney suggests that the situation could be easily redeemed, and our attention refocused presumably, if government spokespeople would only admit to the flaws. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, news reports
Addressing young people’s abuse of their parents
The Nottinghamshire Domestic Violence Forum (NDVF) is hosting a course exploring issues around young people’s abuse of parents on Thursday 19th July.
The day will cover the impact of domestic violence on young people, prevalence and dynamics of parent abuse, and building strengths in the parent and child relationship. The afternoon will focus on practical skills for working with parents experiencing abuse from their children, exploring family systems work and identifying simple techniques to utilise with young people to help stop their abuse.
Full details and booking instructions are available on the Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service website.
Filed under Training opportunities
Practitioner accounts of responding to parent abuse – a case study in ad hoc delivery, perverse outcomes and a policy silence
The online version of this journal article in Child and Family Social Work is now available. Amanda Holt and Simon Retford examine and discuss the ad hoc responses of nine particular practitioners, in one large county in England, to instances of parent abuse in their caseloads. Without clear guidance or a national strategy there is a sense that people must “make do”.
“The study concludes with suggestions for change for the benefit of families who seek support but who currently find little effective response.”
Filed under publications
Respect workshop details and booking form
More information is now available about the workshops and presentations planned for the Respect National Practitioners’ Seminar on July 4th. This is the sixth seminar of its kind, for those addressing young people’s use of violence in close relationships, and will be held this year in London.
Of particular interest to those in the field of parent abuse will be a presentation about the Yuva Project. Shem Williams, from DVIP, will be talking about their work on adolescent to parent violence. Peter Misch also returns after a successful presentation last year. This year he discusses Empathy Deficits from a mental health perspective. And there are two presentations about the work of Respect and the young people’s project itself.
The full programme of speakers and booking forms are available on the Respect website.
Filed under Training opportunities
Bristol support service for abused parents
I was very excited to read about a new parent abuse support project established in Bristol in April, as I know this has been on the cards for nearly a year since Judy Nixon went to speak at a conference there and inspired practitioners to take this forward.
The 13 week programme is designed for parents with children of secondary school age, is being run by the Single Person Action Network (SPAN) with Wish for a Brighter Future, and is funded through Bristol City Council and Children in Need. Parents are offered work to enable them to stay safe and to understand the underlying reasons for their child’s behaviour. There is a recognition that parents do not necessarily want to involve the police or courts, because of the consequences for their children.
Wish has run one-to-one support for parents who are victims of violence from their children since January and has received more than 100 referrals so far, amply demonstrating the need for such a service. It is tragic to realise there are so many parents suffering abusive behaviour from their children, and without adequate support up to now.
More details and contact numbers are available here.
Filed under projects
Amanda Holt speaking at Surrey University
An inspiring talk from Amanda Holt yesterday at Surrey University, based on her forthcoming book: Adolescent-to-Parent Abuse: Current Understandings in Research, Policy and Practice. The book, from Policy Press, due out in November this year, will be the first academic text on parent abuse to be published in Britain. Offering a thorough overview of the subject, Amanda first considered the similarities and differences with other forms of family violence; and then went on to examine what we can learn from the different types of data available. Continue reading
Filed under Discussion, publications
HOLES IN THE WALL 