When an election is called, civil servants are subject to strict rules about what they can and can’t do. The work of government is in effect paused until the new administration takes office. This means that from 24th May it has not been possible to learn any more about the Home Office Consultation on terminology and the definition of child to parent abuse; and more importantly that it is not clear what will happen after the election on July 4th. Having been banging on about this for at least the last ten years, and having just this week announced my retirement, I am struggling not to take this personally!
Continue readingTag Archives: Child to parent violence
Call for Manuscripts: Frontiers in Psychiatry
Please see this Call for Manuscripts for work related to Understanding Child to Parent Violence: From Development to Intervention. The call is open till July 16th. You will find all the guidelines included on the page. The topic will be edited by Ashlee Curtis, Eva Nowakowski-Sims, Richelle Mayshak and Travis Harries.
Filed under Announcements, Research
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
CPV Research Findings
One of the many joys of what I do is hearing about research that is taking place, bringing greater understanding of the issue of child to parent violence, and developing resources that will better help and support families in the future. So forgive me if the blog posts seem a little research-focussed over the next weeks!
Bethan Pell, studying at Cardiff University, contacted me some time ago and I have been eagerly waiting the report from her Masters studies and her plans as she progresses to begin her PhD.
That piece in the Sunday Times
Last Sunday there was an article in the Sunday Times, by Megan Agnew, titled “We had to hand our adopted child back – we had no choice.” The article is behind a paywall and I appreciate it may not be accessible to everyone, so I can tell you that it includes material from interviews with a number of adoptive parents, from Adoption UK, Nigel Priestley, Professor Stephen Scott and a spokesperson from the Department for Education. It talks about the changes in the adoption system over the years, about the need for support for families from the very start of the process because of the early experiences of children, and the tragic circumstances of families who no longer feel able to provide safety and security for their children and the rest of their family. Some of the families concerned were able to access support that was helpful, some went on to ask Children’s Services to accommodate their child under s20. In some situations this was seen as a success story; in others the plight of the child and the family became even worse. Essentially the piece is highlighting the need for proper support for adoptive families to enable them to stay safe and stay together; the reality of child to parent violence for many families driven by trauma and mental health difficulties; and the post code lottery of support available. In that sense it is not a new story, but by retelling it there is a hope that one day things might improve.
Continue readingFiled under Discussion, Family life
National Congress on Child to Parent Violence in Valencia
After a delay of 2 years because of the pandemic, the National Congress finally met in Spain last week, attended by around 200 experts in the field. You can read a report on the gathering in the University of Valencia News, and there were people tweeting throughout the event, for more coverage.
“Within the last 20 years there have been many advances. Even though this still is an invisible problem its gaining visibility, and society is becoming more aware of this type of problem. Now we have intervention programmes specialized in child to parent violence and this is a huge step forward in hepling families and young people. We can also state that now there is an agreement among the professionals that it is a relational problem, that is necessary to work with the families and to involve the parents. It is also important to point out that at the beginning the phenomenon was only considered to be tackled from the judicial sphere and now the focus is on prevention and awareness”, María José Ridaura, vice-president of SEVIFIP and psychologist at Fundación Amigó, said.
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A Response to the Review of Children’s Social Care
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has been published less than a week, but there have already been many, many responses, analyses and commentaries. Most speak from their own particular interest angle, and that is what I will try to do, though I would like to make some general comments first.
As a social worker I have thoughts on the whole report and – full disclosure – my first qualified job was within a patch team where we served a small neighbourhood, working to build protective relationships and activate community initiatives, as well as providing direct support and intervention; so I am all in favour of small, locally based teams working together across different disciplines in a way that is defined by the neighbourhood itself, intervening early on before difficulties are entrenched or crisis point is reached.
Continue readingFiled under Policy, publications
London Mayor welcomes ground breaking report into CAPVA
Over the years there have been a number of studies investigating the issue of child to parent violence within defined geographical regions, sometimes in response to specific incidents (Northumbria for instance) and sometimes commissioned by a particular body (this work in Lancashire for instance). In 2013 Condry and Miles published the first major work in the UK, which took as the main source the Metropolitan Police data over a 1 year period.
Each of these have shed light on our knowledge and understanding of particular aspects of this issue. However, the London VRU report, “Comprehensive needs assessment of Child/Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse in London”, launched last week and welcomed by the Mayor of London is the first to offer a comprehensive examination of the prevalence and characteristics of child / adolescent to parent violence and abuse (CAPVA*) within the capital, and to scope out the help available for families affected by this form of violence and abuse.
Continue readingFiled under Research
Opening up the issue of abuse from children over the age 16
Following on from my last post, and in one of those pleasingly serendipitous moments, it was great to hear the announcement this week from Professor Nicola Graham-Kevan and team at UCLancs, who have been researching child to parent domestic abuse from children over the age of 16, in conjunction with the Lancashire Constabulary and Lancashire Violence Reduction Unit, in a Home Office funded project: Understanding Child to Parent Domestic Abuse in Lancashire.
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Some seasonal thoughts
We* are all feeling a little emotional at the moment (covid, Strictly Come Dancing final, new grand daughter, Christmas songs on the radio), so I might be forgiven for maybe shedding a tear when I read the letter from Nikki Rutter to her co-researchers, published in entanglements. Please read it yourself – I won’t try to comment on it.
The last year has seen incredible advances in many ways in people talking about child to parent violence and abuse, in media coverage, in government funding for the development of support, and in the publication of new research. But the months of covid have, we know, also been difficult beyond our imagination for those living with this as part of their daily lives. This knowledge MUST temper our celebrations. And it should also sharpen our determination to listen to your voices, to learn from you and to hear what works, what makes things worse, what brings hope and what makes you angry or despairing. That should be our new year resolution if we make them, and that will be my hope for the next year of writing.
In the meantime, I was going to write something fairly bland and dry about opening hours over the holiday. I’ll just leave you with these links to organisations offering support at this time. Wishing you peace, and hope for 2022.
* Royal we, meaning me, obviously!
Filed under Family life
HOLES IN THE WALL 