Child to Parent Abuse

In our August 2022 Academic Insights?paper,?Dr Amanda Holt summarises the research findings on child to parent abuse, covering its prevalence, contexts, and impacts. Notably, child to parent abuse can cause a wide range of harms, to the parent/carer, to the young person, and to the wider family and community.

There are clear implications for youth justice practice in relation to initial identification and screening – with disclosure being difficult for many parents/carers, and differing structural and familial contexts – and the need for tailored and multi-agency responses. The importance of a life-course perspective is also highlighted:

"there is growing recognition of the need to address the problem at all stages of the life course – from the early years, when parents/carers often request help but the problem is ignored, into adulthood, when the problem can endure and produce even greater (and sometimes fatal) harms."

Within our inspections, we will continue to consider whether high-quality, well-focused, personalised and coordinated services are in place which support both the safety of the child and the safety of other people.

The paper can be accessed via the link below.?