Muted stakeholders: Power differentials in interventions seeking to reduce child to parent violence and abuse.

• In Event: Authentic Voices: Young people and Violence. Being heard as well as being seen.

Abstract

Little is known about police sponsored interventions designed to positively impact upon the problem of child and adolescent to parent/guardian violence and abuse (CAPVA) and their effectiveness in helping to divert children and young people away from criminalisation. This paper draws on findings from research which focussed on one such intervention in the UK called Step Up. The aim of the programme is to deliver, through a holistic approach, parental/carer education and child coaching to reduce violence towards parents/guardians. Participation is voluntary and the aim is to provide support for the whole family. The core component of the offer is an 8-week programme for children aged 11 to 17 years. The research was designed to provide understanding of the outcomes and impact of the programme for service users and key stakeholders including funders of the provision. In this paper the focus is on the children and young people who prompt professional stakeholder referrals into the intervention. The paper explores the extent to which children and young people are seen and heard during the intervention and the extent to which they were seen and heard during the course of the research. The power differentials that predate and preface, surface and endure are such that whilst children are sometimes seen and sometimes briefly heard, their perspective is always at best muted if not invisible in the effort to punctuate abusive behaviours.

Author

• Pamela Davies, Northumbria University