Guernsey Press

Conference airs issue of children being violent towards parents

PARENTS facing violence from their children is a problem often encountered by youth and social workers in the island, who might create a model to address the issue.

Published
At the Islands Safeguarding Children Partnership and Domestic Abuse Strategy Conference are, left to right, visiting social worker Helen Bonnick, social worker Maria Duah and policy manager at UK organisation Against Violence and Abuse Jo Sharpen. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 22003778)

A relatively new area of research nationally, child-parent violence and the best way to help those affected was the topic of a special conference held by the Islands Safeguarding Children Partnership and Domestic Abuse Strategy yesterday.

In attendance were local practitioners and professionals and visiting experts from the UK.

Children from early childhood to adulthood directing physical, psychological, emotional and financial abuse towards their parents and carers was outlined as an often misunderstood area of domestic abuse.

Youth worker and policy manager at UK organisation Against Violence and Abuse Jo Sharpen said that often what the perpetrator uses is a form of coercive control, recognised as a crime in the UK when proven to occur over a significant period.

‘We asked for a show of hands at the beginning of the conference for anyone who has come across CPV and everyone put their hands up.

‘We find that lots of services don’t know how to respond – families don’t always want to go to the police on their own child.

‘There are different problems and trauma that the child will be going through that need to be considered. We’ve had GPs here today saying it’s something they recognise from their practice.

‘We do see homicidal children – about 21 parents are killed by their children in a year [in the UK],’ she said.

Visiting social worker Helen Bonnick said although it has been documented since the 1970s, CPV has been recognised as a separate strain of domestic abuse only in the past 10 years and there are few specialised intervention projects nationally for the issue.

‘We can’t see this as the fault of families, we see this as something that is happening with the individual which might be for a variety of reasons.

‘It used to be thought of as just a problem with teenagers but now we see it can happen from the age of three up to adulthood.

‘I want people to know that from the point of view of the person affected, they need friends to talk to, someone who will be prepared to hear some shocking things. They need to be believed and supported so they can begin to build back their authority in the family,’ she said.

Chairman of the Islands Safeguarding Children Partnership Simon Westwood said the aim of the conference was to bring multi-agency professionals together.

‘The ultimate goal is to enable local professionals to work together effectively to support families, improve communication and build respectful relationships,’ he said.

n If you think you are being affected by CPV or any form of domestic violence you can go to safer.gg for assistance.