Covenant founders join forces

PEGS Admin • Mar 27, 2023

Covenant founders join forces to encourage employers to support women and parents experiencing abuse

The creators of two UK Government-backed Covenants are set to work together to strengthen employers' responses to abuse.

Michelle John, founder of PEGS and creator of the Child to Parent Abuse Covenant (CPAC), and Polly Harrar, founder of the Sharan Project and lead delivery partner of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant (EDAC), have joined forces to ensure more workplaces have policies and practices in place to effectively support those who are currently experiencing (or have previously experienced) Intimate Partner or Child to Parent Abuse.

Employers who sign the CPAC are committing to assisting employees and volunteers who are experiencing CPA – which impacts upwards of 3% of UK households - by implementing and developing effective policies and practices around this issue.

EDAC members are encouraged to sign up to five pledges, which includes identifying sustainable work-based opportunities for women affected by abuse to enter or re-enter the workplace.

Both organisations have signed up to the other’s Covenants, and Michelle and Polly are looking at ways they can continue to promote and raise awareness for EDAC and CPAC, which were both launched in conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions.

Michelle said: “EDAC and CPAC are about removing the employment barriers which can be in place for people experiencing different types of domestic abuse. The workforce is losing out on a great deal of talent due to the effects of abuse; yet with the right support, those people could remain (or become) employed, to the benefit of them as individuals, their employer, and the wider community.

“We’re proud to support EDAC and the work of Polly and the Sharan Project, and we hope by working together we can encourage even more employers to think about the impact of abuse and how they can make it possible for those affected to have a fulfilling career.”

Polly added: “Partnership working is key to better understanding the impact that all forms of abuse can have on victims/survivors and now, more than ever, the role employers can play in addressing these issues can make huge a difference. We are delighted with this collaboration with CPAC and look forward to working together.”

PEGS, which founded the CPAC, is a social enterprise which supports parents experiencing Child to Parent Abuse, trains frontline professionals, influences national and regional policy, and raises awareness for this often-hidden issue.

EDAC – which has been included as a recommended in the Domestic Abuse Act - is delivered by The Sharan Project, an award-winning charity that works to empower, educate and inspire women who want to learn about the support and choices that are available to them, and provide them with the tools to lead life on their own terms.

EDAC and CPAC are third and fourth Covenants in the UK respectively, following on from the Armed Forces and Care Leavers Covenants.

Tony Hyland, DWP Senior National Account Manager, has supported the development of both Covenants and sees both as being vital in offering concrete support to appropriate victims of abuse.

“Both Polly and Michelle are inspirational leaders and both the EDAC and the CPAC offer vital support to some of our most vulnerable customers so we at DWP will continue to support in any way we can."

Visit www.edacuk.org to find out more about EDAC, and www.pegsupport.co.uk/CPAC for

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Grandparents can be abused too.

By Amanda Warburton-Wynn • 03 May, 2024

'Oh, we love having the grandchildren, especially because we can give them back!' How many times have you heard that? But have you heard 'We dread our grandchild coming to visit, we never feel safe until they've gone home'? Child to Parent Abuse is increasingly a topic of research but there is currently no formal definition and, if the consultation carried out by the Home Office in 2023 results in one, it's likely that grandparents won't get a mention in the main title. Of course, the age of grandparents can vary hugely but for those in the older age groups abuse from a child can be hard to understand and even harder to speak about. Whilst in many cases abusive behaviours are not linked to a health or mental health issue, some of the diagnoses involved in some cases of child to parent abuse weren't known until fairly recent times – ADHD was first recognised when mentioned in a National Institution of Clinical Excellence (NICE) report in 2000! Children who we now categorise as being victims of abuse and trauma were often just seen as 'naughty' back in the day and their behaviour needed to be dealt with by punishment. It's essential that we now recognise when children are asking for help – even if that is demonstrated by negative behaviours – but the impact of these behaviours on the whole family needs to be considered. Information Now say that In the past two generations, the number of children being cared for by their grandparents has increased substantially from 33% to 82% - almost two-thirds of all grandparents regularly look after their grandchildren. The UK Government add that 41% of mothers are working full time so it's clear that grandparents are spending more time with their grandchildren than ever before. There are myriad reasons for this including the changing demographics of an ageing population where many grandparents are now more physically active so spending time with grandparents can be more fulfilling than in the past (anyone else remember sitting in silence listening to the adults talk and drink team and hoping it would be time to go home soon?) But for all those positives, abuse of older people is a negative that's featuring more and more in research and in the news. Whilst several studies on both domestic abuse and elder abuse victimisation have reported that adult sons or grandsons, and a smaller proportion of adult daughters or granddaughters, are perpetrators in around half of all abuse against older adults (see Bows et al . 2022), there is little research into abuse by grandchildren who are aged under 18. One reason for this is likely to be the reluctance, by family members, professionals and society as a whole, to label children as 'perpetrators' or 'abusers Parents experiencing abuse from children have told PEGS that the abuse most commonly starts before the age of six and often continues post the child turning 18. It is probable that some children who display abusive behaviours towards parents will also abuse their grandparents but it's possible that some children abuse grandparents only. What is pretty much definite is that grandparents will feel the same emotions as parents if a child is abusing them – shame, guilt, worry about consequences of speaking out and concerned about causing problems within the family, especially if they appear to be the only targets of the abuse. It's also common to look for a reason for the abuse, something that has happened to the child perhaps or something that the grandparent has/hasn't done and to try to rationalise the abuse. As well as more research, there needs to be more recognition from organisations working with older people – statutory and voluntary – that Child to Parent Abuse can and does include children abusing grandparents and those grandparents need support. Abuse from a child is often no less dangerous than abuse from an adult so it shouldn't be laughed off or seen as grandparents not having enough 'control' over their grandchildren. More awareness of the issue, more open discussions and acknowledgement of the impact of this type of abuse will hopefully lead to appropriate support for grandparents who come forward to ask for help, and more of them doing so. Amanda Warburton-Wynn is an independent researcher and consultant specialising in support for domestic abuse and sexual violence survivors with disabilities and older people. You can find out more about Amanda and her work on her website www.awdaconsultancy.com