We are only just coming to the end of January, but it has been interesting already to read a number of papers which have been published online this month. Two particularly attracted my attention: that from Harries, Curtis, Skvarc, Benstead, Walker and Mayshak, and also this one from Cortina and Holt – ‘This is what happens to people who don’t spank their kids’: An analysis of YouTube comments to news reports of child to parent violence.
Continue readingBringing the focus on families experiencing CAPVA in Merseyside.
In the run up to the end of last year I began piling up “things to read” – and am finally finding a space to work my way through some fascinating papers and reports.
Top of the pile was the report from Liverpool John Moores University in conjunction with Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership, Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership – Child and Adolescent to Parent / Caregiver Violence and Abuse (CAPVA) research study 2023. The report examines the awareness of CAPVA in the Merseyside area, and the current responses to it, as well as making a series of recommendations for the development of both going forward. For the study, the team interviewed a number of practitioners and families to inform their findings, and there are extensive quotes from them within the report which bring energy and emphasis.
Continue readingFiled under Research
Welcome to 2024!
I wish all those reading this a peaceful and encouraging new year.
It is customary to hope for new and better things in the year ahead, but we know that for many families the passing of time seems to bring only a consolidation of their anxieties and pain. The holiday period can be especially stressful and so many people will be emerging bruised and battered – and not just emotionally. But there are reasons to be hopeful as we face the coming months and I would like to share some with you.
Continue readingFiled under Announcements
Public Consultation on the Definition of Child to Parent Abuse
When the first Home Office guidance document for those working with what was then termed Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse was published in 2015, the need for a revision / update became clear very quickly as new understanding and methods of work developed. Amongst those insights was the prevalence among much younger children, impacting particularly the ways the behaviour was conceptualised; leading to problems around an agreed terminology and definition.
Over the years, countless researchers and reports have called for the establishment of a working group to consider these issues. We recognise that there remain many different terms in use, all for very particular reasons. But without agreed terminology and in the absence of an official definition, problems remain with the collection of data, the compilation of statistics, the commissioning of services, and – most importantly – the understanding and recognition by families of their experiences and the ability to ask for help in a way that is immediately understood.
After many years of meetings, changes of staff, changes of emphasis and focus on adult domestic abuse, the 2022 Policy Paper, Tackling Domestic Abuse included a commitment to developing a sector agreed definition; and I am thrilled to announce that we finally have a public consultation on the definition of child to parent abuse, which will include space to comment on terminology. The team at the Home Office have been working on this for many months, speaking to key stakeholders in order to produce the consultation framework. The consultation is open till 7th February, so please do take the time to have a look and send in your comments.
The organisers of this would particularly like to hear from those with lived experience: parents and young people, who are able to offer insights that may be missed by those researching and working in the field.
The Consultation document can be accessed here.
Any questions on the consultation should be addressed to the team at CPAConsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk
Thank you!!!!!!
Filed under Announcements, Policy
Finding the right words: what I meant
We often think about the language we use in work with families where there is harmful behaviour from children, but more usually in terms of what we call it (see this sentence!) or the terms we use to describe the various family members involved. This week I have been reflecting on the difficulties that arise when the language we use as professionals is different to that used by parents. I have written about this before, and included a reference in my book to a blog by Raising Devon where the author talks about the difficulties in getting help while she referred to her child’s behaviour as “tantrums” rather than “rages”.
Continue readingFiled under Discussion
“You’re not alone”, a new animation from Respect Young People’s Programme
Amongst the many posts on CPA Awareness Day 2023, it was fantastic to see the new animation launched by Respect, created in partnership with their Durham delivery partners. Respect were celebrating the success of the Respect Young People’s Programme, their intervention for families experiencing child or adolescent to parent violence and abuse (known as CAPVA). This included publishing impressive new evaluation figures, provided by their Cambridge delivery partners, alongside the animation – raising awareness of the issue of CAPVA, and the support available to families.
The animation was created in partnership with Durham PCC, Durham Council and Investing in Children, and attracted much attention on the day, and it was particularly encouraging to see it covered in the Police Oracle. ‘PCC Darryl Preston, who funds the programme, says it’s an “excellent example” of how effective early intervention can be.’
Continue readingFiled under Announcements, projects, Research
CPA Awareness Day 2023
Last year the organisation PEGS organised the first CPA Awareness Day, to promote awareness and understanding of the issues, and to make more people aware that advice and help is available.
This year’s Awareness Day is just around the corner, October 14th being the proposed day, and provides a great opportunity once again to amplify voices and get the word out there.
Depending on where you work – or study – there will be different things that you can do, but here are some ideas that have worked for others:
- Compose a message to go out through the day on social media
- Host a coffee morning at your service
- Invite the local press to cover the issue or to promote your work
- Set up a stall with flyers and other materials – an ideal opportunity to chat to people who may not know anything!
- Arrange for posters to go up in targeted places
- Contact local politicians or commissioners
- Write something for a professional or community newsletter
- And share what you do – so that we can keep the momentum going even longer!
PEGS have a resource pack on their website with free to download posters and other materials if you need help in this way.
Filed under Announcements
Parenting children using violence and aggression – the unofficial guide!
Full disclosure – I am huge fan of Sally Donovan’s writing, having stumbled across her early on in my obsession with the issue of children using violence and abuse towards their parents, and so I become madly excited at the news of a new book from her coming out! She has not disappointed me. Sally, and Carly Kingswood who joins her this time round, both write with a gritty honesty, having lived with the subject matter for more years than they would have liked, and are living proof that you can come out of the other end with some degree of sanity, health, and most importantly hope.
The Unofficial Guide to Therapeutic Parenting for Childhood Aggression and Violence is very much written with parents in mind who are struggling with this right now – who might need to read in small chunks, to take a break every now and then to process the content, who want to understand what’s going on and why as well as top tips to help right now, and may only just be holding things together themselves. It is grim but also funny, sweary but also hugely empathetic. There are squirrels* along the way and plenty of advice about what to do when it all kicks off (the most frequently asked question at training sessions in my experience). Right at the start Sally says: “what we are talking about is not simple and it certainly isn’t nice”, but it is certainly real!
Continue readingFiled under Book review
Evaluation of work with children using harmful behaviour towards parents
Calling all those involved in delivering or commissioning work to support parents experiencing child to parent violence and abuse! I am pleased to repost the information below from the University of Sheffield, who are undertaking an evaluative study into work with children using harmful behaviours towards their parents and carers.
Continue readingFiled under Announcements, 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
HOLES IN THE WALL 