Virtual event sees support build for CPA awareness

The first-ever event hosted by PEGS saw almost 200 professionals come together online.

Our organisation is a not-for-profit which launched 18 months ago with the aims of supporting parents experiencing Child to Parent Abuse, training front-line professionals, raising awareness, and influencing national policy.

Founding Director Michelle John and her team invited funders, professionals and partner organisations to join Progressing PEGS, a half-day event celebrating the journey so far and looking ahead at what more could be achieved in the future.

The morning attracted 194 attendees from health bodies, police forces, charities and voluntary organisations, the civil service and many other sectors.

A mix of live speakers and recorded videos saw Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs, Jess Philips - Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, John Campion – West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner, Natalie Hancock – Mid and West Wales Regional VAWGDASV Adviser, and Ahmed Bhayat from the Department for Work and Pensions addressing attendees.

Representatives from partner organisations also spoke including those from The Isla Foundation, Community Foundation for Staffordshire, The Kintsugi Collective, isev, and Bright Star Boxing.

Michelle said: “We were thrilled to have so many participants for our first ever virtual Progressing PEGS event – but what was even more fantastic was just how engaged the attendees were. We’ve already had some amazing feedback during the event and on social media, and we’ve identified multiple organisations who we can begin to partner with, as well as strengthening the existing bonds we had with many of the groups who attended.

“The more support we have, the more parents we can support – and that’s why I set up PEGS, to ensure those impacted by Child to Parent Abuse have somewhere they can turn to, where they will be listened to, believed, and empowered.”

Child to Parent Abuse is thought to impact somewhere between 3% and 10% of UK households, with behaviours including physical, financial and verbal abuse – often resulting in parents, carers and guardians needing help from social services, the police, their GP or the child’s school.

PEGS offers free support to all parents affected by CPA (including those who have adult offspring), via advocacy, one-to-one support, confidence and coping technique programmes, and a peer support group.

You can follow PEGS' progress across social media - posts specifically about the event have been shared online using the hashtag #ProgressingPEGS.

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Founding Director, Michelle, has been awarded an MBE in the Kings Birthday Honours for Family Support and Advocacy.

By PEGS Admin • June 15, 2026

Child to Parent Abuse organisation founder awarded MBE The founder of a social enterprise which has supported thousands of parents impacted by abusive behaviours from their children has been awarded an MBE. Michelle John, originally from Pembrokeshire in Wales but now based in Shropshire, was among the names announced for the prestigious accolade in the King’s Birthday Honours List this year. In 2020, Michelle set up not-for-profit organisation PEGS with the aim of supporting parents and carers, training professionals, influencing local and national policy, and raising awareness of Child to Parent Abuse – which is thought to affect up to one in ten households in the UK. Since then, she has grown a team of experts who have trained police, social workers, teachers and many other professionals to better recognise the signs of CPA, support parents, and signpost to specialist organisations. In addition, Michelle set up a range of parent-focused initiatives including daily practitioner-led online sessions, a Facebook peer support group which now has 3,300 members, and one-to-one offerings for those at highest risk. PEGS launched a CPA Covenant for employers in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, only the fourth such covenant to be backed by the Government, and Michelle has advised everyone from the Home Office to Channel 4 and the BBC on CPA – the latter for storyline on Hollyoaks and EastEnders. Her work has seen CPA covered by journalists across television news programmes, national newspapers and magazine, and regional press and radio, and she’s received numerous awards both in the UK and internationally. Michelle, whose MBE was awarded for Family Support and Advocacy, said: “This honour is also shared with the parents who have trusted me along the way: they drive me, inspire me and I will always stand with them. “I feel proud, privileged and very grateful – and I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me and PEGS along the way. There is much more to come for PEGS, and we will continue to work every day for the parents and carers who have been or continue to be impacted by CPA. “There is so much to reflect on from the journey of the last six years, and there have been many highlights and challenges along the way. I am sure there will be many more in the future – although being told I’d received an MBE will always remain a truly incredible moment that I’ll remember forever!” For more information about us, visit www.pegsupport.co.uk or search for 'PEGS' on social media!