What we can learn from the Understanding Child to Parent Domestic Abuse in Lancashire study
Lancashire Violence Reduction Network have just published 'Understanding Child to Parent Domestic Abuse in Lancashire' (Home Office Funded).
This research undertaken with the University of Central Lancashire to further understand child (aged over 16) to parent domestic abuse.
The research is based on Lancashire data but we believe it to be reflective of the national picture including Norfolk. Just some of the key findings include:
- it is not just adolescents that abuse their parents, our findings uncovered perpetrators aged between 16 and 74 years with victims aged between 30 and 98 years
- the average age of perpetrators was 27 years, while the average age of the victim was 54 years
- some perpetrators used intimidating behaviour and coercive control and caused the victims significant fear. Other incidents centred around children struggling with substance use, some incidents may be better understood as carer burnout
- in around a quarter of the cases, perpetrators appeared to struggle with their mental health and diagnosis, or behaviour consistent with, autism, ADHD, depression, Schizophrenia and psychosis, and emotionally unstable personality disorders were likely an important factor.
The project has secured funding for a second phase, which will further examine the profile of this specific genre of offenders and how this might change over time. These findings will be published later this year.
The full report, Understanding child to parent domestic abuse in Lancashire, is available to download here.
Published