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IMPACT and SOLUTIONS - Domestic Abuse, Young People and Youth Justice
Hampden Glasgow Jan 30 th 2013

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• Domestic abuse
– Conceptions, definitions and approaches
• Domestic abuse and child protection
• Abusive teenage relationships
• Abuse, its impact and young women’s pathways to offending
• Working with justice-involved young women affected by abuse
• Issues for policy and practice

Typically involves:
– a pattern of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, threats and intimidation
– that escalates in frequency/severity
Focus on adults
Has profound consequences in the lives of individuals, children, families and communities
Recognised as most prevalent form of violence against women, internationally www.sccjr.ac.uk

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Estimates
– prevalence studies
(Walby &
Allen, 2004)
– victimisation surveys
– police data
– research with survivors
• Methodological issues
– under-reporting
– definitions /measurements
– limited/partial data sources
(Dobash and Dobash 2012) ;

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"Domestic abuse (as gender-based abuse), can be perpetrated by partners or ex partners and can include
physical abuse (assault and physical attack involving a range of behaviour), sexual abuse (acts which degrade and humiliate women and are perpetrated against their will, including rape) and mental and emotional abuse (such as threats, verbal abuse, racial abuse, withholding money and other types of controlling behaviour such as isolation from family or friends ).“
(National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland, 2000)

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• Feminist perspective and analyses
– recognising relationships between different forms of violence
• Power and control
– Misuse of power and exercise of control
• Gender as integral
– framing domestic abuse within broad societal context to examine its gendered nature (cf UN Declaration on Elimination of Violence
Against Women, 1993)
– barrier to gender equality at practical and symbolic levels
• Gendered impact
• Proposes a gendered analysis

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“
(Scottish Government, Safer Lives, Changed Lives, 2009)

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• Recognized as a risk factor in child protection matters
– Seeing, Hearing, Feeling ……….
(Cawson 2002)
• Research shows that children/ young people living in households where there is domestic abuse experience increased likelihood of risks of disturbance, such as:
• behavioural problems (aggression, delinquency and anti-social behaviour)
• internalising problems ( anxiety and depression) (
Sternberg et al 2006; Martrinez-
Torteya et al 2009)
• insecure attachments
• disruptive sleep patterns, bed-wetting and frequent nightmares.(
Humphreys et al, 2009)
• higher rates of psychopathology and post-traumatic stress disorder than their peers (see, for example Ernst, Weiss, & Enright-Smith, 2006; Kolbo, Blakely, &
Engleman, 1996; McIntosh, 2003
)

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• Co-existence of different forms of abuse
– 1 in 3 child protection cases show a history of domestic abuse in the home
( Hester and Pearson 1998)
Severity and length of time over which domestic abuse has occurred increases risks for children and young people
(
Edleson et al, 1999 and Grych et al, 2000)
• Risks of children being directly physically or sexually abused markedly increase where they are living with domestic abuse
– Estimated that 30- 66% of children suffer direct abuse when living with domestic abuse
– are more likely to be physically assaulted at home if their mother is being physically assaulted ( Harwin, 2006)

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A teenage problem ?
•Increasing recognition that domestic abuse affects young people as much as it does adults.
•Growing awareness of teenage relationship abuse, with teenage girls considered to be at greatest risk from violent relationships
•Gendered impact
•Fluidity of teenage relationships
Widening definition
•In England and Wales, from March 2013, definition will be widened to include 16 and 17 yr olds
“any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality “

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• National crime surveys reveal that younger adults are at greater risk of victimisation than older adults .
– e.g. In BCS 2009/10, 12.7% of women aged 16-19, indicated they had experienced at least one incident of domestic abuse in the last year, compared to
4.8% of those aged 55-59 (Smith et al . 2011, p. 88).
• US self-report studies of offending suggest that peak age for perpetrating domestic abuse may be as young as 16 yrs
• Too little, too late?
– i.e. suggests that most state intervention – the delivery of criminal justice responses to adult offenders and victims
– is rather too little too late (Nocentini et al. 2010)
• Question of onset ?
• Conceptualising appropriate response ?

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Worrying level of incidence and concern over reported attitudes of young people in relation to the ‘acceptability’ of abuse in relationships
1.
Burton et al, 1998 attitudinal survey of 2,039 young people ( aged 14-21)
– documented ‘wide-spread acceptance of forced sex and physical violence against women’ and a marked readiness on the part of young people to blame women for men’s violence towards them
2.
Kitzinger and Batchelor, 2000
– evaluation of Respect educational programme
– the majority of young people involved in the programme were not taking on board the messages in the campaign and did not alter their attitudes towards violence
3. Burman and Cartmel, 2005 survey of 1,395 young people (aged 14-18)
– 7% of girls/29% boys reported having been slapped
– 16% of girls/25% boys had been pushed/grabbed/shoved,
–
9% of girls had been kicked/bitten or hit compared to 19% of boys.
– 10% of girls and 8% of boys who participated reported that their partner had tried to force them to have sex (Burman & Cartmel 2005)

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4. Partner Exploitation and Violence in Intimate Teenage Relationships
–
1,353 young people (13 and 17) from England, Scotland and Wales took part in a survey / 91 took part in in-depth interviews. ( Barter et al 2009 )
– experiences of physical, emotional and sexual forms of violence in their partner relationships, incl. their coping strategies and views on intervention
– 25% girls/ 18% boys reported physical partner violence
– ³ /4 girls and ½ boys reported emotional partner violence
–
33% girls / 16 % boys reported incident of sexual abuse
5.
Violence in dating relationships between younger teens
– 1,143 young people (aged 13-14 years (younger age groups) in one area of E &W
– questionnaire to assess their experiences as victims, witnesses and perpetrators
– 46% girls/44% boys reported abuse of some form (most commonly emotional abuse)
24% girls/25% boys reported being abusive
–
Gender difference in terms of perpetration were not statistically significant ( Gadd et al 2012)
–

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Relationships
Abandonment, bereavement, parental absence
Families
– important source of anger/frustration
Violent Victimisation
– in home, in intimate relationships
Financial Pressures
– The feminisation of poverty
Addictions
– esp. substance misuse
Emotional pressures/coercions (often from partners )
– Prostitution; dealing;
Gaining ‘respect’ from peers
Risk-taking excitement and
‘having a laugh ’
Running Away
Escaping abuse
Truanting

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Multiple presenting difficulties and history of unmet need
– accumulation of risk across a range of indicators
– stem from deep-rooted and complex life experiences such as violence and sexual victimisation and lack of care
Offending can be a longterm effect of women’s and girls’ abuse / victimisation
Many justice-involved young women and girls believe their sexual abuse histories are related to their subsequent offending
– ‘deserving’ of abuse perpetrated on them
– self-blaming (self-esteem)
– self-harming
(see, for example: Batchelor 2007; Belknap & Holsinger, 2006; Belknap et al., 1997; Burman and Batchelor
2009; Burman and Imlah 2012; : Douglas and Plugge 2006; McIvor 2004;
Sheehan et al 2007; SCRA 2009Sharpe 2011Chesney-Lind & Rodriguez, 1983;Corston Report 2007;
Gaarder & Belknap, 2002;

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(n= 44 justice –involved young women
• Virtually all with problematic familial backgrounds
– Histories of physical and sexual abuse
– High levels of victimisation ( within domestic environment) family problems (disruption)
– Bereavement
• Socio-economic disadvantage
• Two thirds CHS involvement (mostly welfare grounds)
• Almost all with experience of being ‘looked after’ or accommodated by local authority
• Almost two fifths with problematic substance abuse (alcohol)
• Over a quarter with a history of self-harm (Burman and Imlah, 2012)

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Joy was referred via children and families social work, with whom she had extensive involvement over several years, since she disclosed sexual abuse by her brothers, and physical abuse by her mother. Following the subsequent criminal investigation, she was rejected by her family, and spent periods living with other relatives and foster carers.
Joy was subject to a residential supervision requirement in a children’s unit. She was truanting from school and her risk of secure care on protection grounds was escalating due to her continual absconding , frequently on a daily basis
–and risky sexual life. She had no offending history at that point, but the situation was deteriorating. The primary reasons for referral were for the provision of intensive support to try to stabilise her current placement, minimise the likelihood of onset of offending, and address the historical abuse which social workers and residential workers believed was at the root of Joy’s difficulties.
Joy initially engaged relatively well but due to her absconding , rarely kept any scheduled appointments. She spent a period of respite, and achieved some stability during that time. On her return to the children’s unit, however, she absconded once again, this time committing offences with two others. She had a second period of respite care, but absconded once again and was eventually sent to secure accommodation due to serious concerns about the risks she posed to herself and to others. Shortly after her arrival in secure care it was found that Joy was pregnant.

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• Ashley was on pre-trial remand for a serious violent offence; her first experience of custody. She had extensive experience of social work involvement due to a lack of parental care; her mother was absent for much of her childhood.
Following her parent’s break-up when she was 5, Ashley went to live with her uncle, who sexually abused her over several years. At 13, she returned to live with her mother who she described as ‘a stranger’.
• At 14, Ashley was diagnosed with ADHD and developed drug and alcohol problems; she also began self-harming. Relationship with mother broke down.
At 15, Ashley went to live with an abusive male partner (also her co-accused)
• Whilst in prison Ashley developed an intimate relationship with another young woman. Ashley was convicted and placed on probation and, on release, moved in with her new partner. This proved a highly volatile relationship (characterised by abuse) ; Ashley began to self-harm again, and breached her probation – back into prison.

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• Persistent offending is strongly associated with victimisation and social adversity , which need to be addressed alongside offending behaviours (McAra and McVie 2010 )
Yet .......
• Particular needs (seen as individualised troubles) difficult to meet in justice settings (and exacerbated by age)
• Troublesome, challenging (intractable, malevolent; recalcitrant)
• Importance of staff and relationships

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• Underpins ‘gender-responsive’ work with offenders
– recognition that lives of offending young people are embedded in a complex social reality, encompassing their relationships, their personal history, and intricate social, structural and contextual factors (Zaplin 2008:84)
– prospects for desistance cannot be easily separated out from this context
• Trauma Informed (Covington, 2003; 2012)
– Ensuring physical safety; trustworthiness; facilitating choice;
• Crisis Intervention
– securing young persons’ safety (either from themselves and/or from others) is an imperative, along with the provision, wherever feasible, of short-term emergency help and care
(see, Harris, 1998; Fallot and Harris 2006; Covington, 2003; 2012; Zaplin 2008; Burmana and Imlah 2012)

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• Individualised care-work plans
– Take into account the social realities from which young people come and to which they will return
• Consideration of range of (interconnected) needs:
– Backgrounds of victimisation (sexual, emotional, physical abuse)
– High risk behaviours (attempted suicide, self-harm, risky sex, ingestion behaviour and addictions)
– Accommodation; finance management; education/training
– Offending behaviours (violence, fighting, drink/drugs addiction
)

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• Appraising young people about the risks of abuse in intimate relationships is crucial
–
Need to equip young people with an understanding of healthy relationships, consent and non-violence i
• Early intervention programmes (inc. schools-based programmes)
• Linking forms of violence
• Multi-faceted approach to prevention
– Societal attitudes
• Developing integrated responses
–
Cross-sectoral collaboration and co-ordination (Whole System Approach?)
• Need for trust and engagement
• Attentiveness
• Confidential / specialised front line services for teenage domestic and sexual abuse

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• Research needed on needs of young people – as both victims and perpetrators
• Strengthen support services to ensure the needs of teenagers are met and their recovery facilitated
–
Gender and age
–specificity in interventions
Work in partnership to deal effectively with young perpetrators ....
( age-specificity of existing mechanism/programmes)
Working with young people rather than working on them

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•
Barter, C et al (2009) Partner Exploitation and violence in teenage intimate relationships
London NSPCC
• Burman, B. and Cartmel, F ( 2005 ) Young people’s attitudes towards gendered violence
Edinburgh NHS Scotland
•
Calder M with Gordon H and Howarth E (2004) Children Living with Domestic Violence:
Towards a framework for assessment and intervention . Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing
• Cawson, P., Wattam, C., Brooker, S. and Kelly,G. (2000) Child maltreatment in the United
Kingdom: A study of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect NSPCC Research report
• Cleaver H, Unell I and Aldgate A (1999) Children’s Needs – Parenting Capacity: the impact of parental mental illness, problem alcohol and drug use, and domestic violence on children’s development. London: The Stationery Office
•
Coid, J., Petruckevitch, A., Feder, G., Chung, W., Richardson,J. Moorey, S. (2001) Relation between childhood sexual and physical abuse and risk of revictimisation in women: a crosssectional survey The Lancet Vol 358
• Dobash, R and Dobash, R ( 2012) Women’s violence to men in intimate relationships : working on a puzzle British Journal of Criminology 44(3) 324-349
• Edleson, J (1999) ‘Children Witnessing of Adult Domestic Violence’, Journal of interpersonal
Violence, 14, 839-70
•
Ernst, A Weiss, S.& Enright-Smith, (2006) Child Witnesses and Victims in Homes with Adult
Intimate Partner Violence Academic Emergency Medicine vol 13 (6)

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• Graham-Bermann S and Edleson J (2001) (eds) Domestic Violence in the Lives of
• Children. Washington DC: American Psychological Association
• Grych, J, Jouries, E, Swank, P, McDonald, R and Norwood, W (2000) ‘Patterns of adjustment among children of battered women’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 68, 84-94
•
Hester M, Pearson C and Harwin N (2000) Making an Impact: A reader . London: Jessica
Kingsley
• Hughes, H, GrahamBermann, S and Gruber, G (2001) ‘Resilience in Children Exposed to
Domestic Violence’ in Graham-Bermann, S and Edleson, J (eds)
Children Exposed to
Marital Violence American Psychology Association, Washington, DC, 185-221
• Humphreys C and Mullender A (2000) Children and Domestic Violence: A research
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• Humphreys C and Stanley N (2006) Domestic Violence and Child Protection: Directions for good practice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publications
• Humphreys, C, Lowe, P and Williams, S (2009) ‘Sleep disruption and domestic violence: exploring the interconnections between mothers ad children’,
Child and Family Social
Work , 14, 6-14

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• Kelly, L., Regan, L. and Burton ( 1991) An exploratory study of the prevalence of sexual abuse in a sample of 16-21 year olds London: CWASU
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• Australian Domestic Violence Clearing House:
•
McGee C (2000) Childhood Experiences of Domestic Violence London: Jessica Kingsley
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•
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Kingsley
•
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• Sternberg, K, Lamb, M, Guterman, E and Abbott, C (2006) ‘Effect of early and later family violence on children’s behaviour problems and depression: A longitudinal multi-informant perspective’,
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