In Focus: Tackling family conflict

Insight
The prevalence of domestic violence and its negative impact on children is well documented. Up to 75 per cent of children on child protection orders in some areas are on the registers at least in part because of concerns over domestic violence in the family. Similarly, up to 79 per cent of those identified as the most troubled families in some authorities are living with domestic violence. Even more worryingly, children who face or witness family violence are significantly more likely to commit other crimes in later life.

There is a strong case for making family violence a national or local measurement in the payment-by-results criteria for the family turnaround programme. Unless urgent action is taken, it is clear that this cycle of violence will continue to plague families for generations to come.

However, while most analyses of violence in the family focus on intimate partner violence, the evidence in our latest report into domestic violence The Enemy Within has also discovered a deeply disturbing trend towards wider violence within the family – including child-on-parent violence and sibling-on-sibling violence, which often passes unnoticed in mainstream analyses of domestic violence.

Anne Longfield, chief executive, 4Children

In depth: Family violence

Family violence is one of the biggest causes of family crisis in the UK, one which puts lives at risk, isolates people and undermines good mental health. It costs the taxpayer in excess of £3.1bn every year in costs to the NHS, the courts and social services. 4Children’s Give Me Strength campaign is focused on getting government and society to work to prevent family crises.

Our survey of parents with children under the age of 18, carried out by YouGov on behalf of 4Children, reveals that more than half of parents with children experience serious or frequent conflict – which equates to about four million families. Only seven per cent of parents said there was no conflict in their home.

Children are overwhelmingly the victims: 950,000 children are affected by domestic violence, either directly as victims of violence, or indirectly in terms of witnessing violence. Unsurprisingly, squeezes on household budgets are a key factor, with one in five parents reporting conflict over serious financial worries and debt.

When asked what happens during family conflicts, arguments (64 per cent) and shouting (57 per cent) were the top two answers. But worryingly, 12 per cent of parents said conflict involved physical fighting – potentially representing regular violence in 846,000 homes in Britain.

4Children is calling on councils to wake up to the true extent of conflict in families. Almost half of local authorities do not have a domestic violence strategy that mentions violence committed by family members, and one in 10 don’t have a domestic violence strategy at all.

Like many problems that can lead to family breakdown, family conflict and violence can often remain hidden within families because of a reluctance to openly admit to the problem and seek help.

There is a need for the definition of domestic violence to be widened and a whole-family approach to come to the fore. Professionals’ response will be critical ?to enabling change and an early intervention approach will need to be adopted. This includes the need for government to fund new approaches, and for local public bodies to fund joined-up initiatives within a national network of projects that promote stronger therapeutic support for children and families in crisis.

In practice

Co-ordinated Community Response
In 2011, Standing Together, a Hammersmith and Fulham-based group that aims to overcome domestic violence, produced a report setting out the benefits of the Co-ordinated Community Response (CCR).

This approach brings together a “system of networks, agreements, processes and applied principles created by the local shelter movement, criminal justice agencies, and human service programmes,” in order to ensure that where violence is prevalent all family members receive the support they need. The programme focuses on providing strong safeguarding action alongside perpetrator programmes and broad community involvement to ensure that perpetrators are held to account for their actions and are required to change their ways, while survivors are given the safety and space they need to deal with the violence they have experienced.
The report notes that CCR is an excellent model for early intervention, can lead to the creation of strong and enduring partnerships, and deliver long-term savings to the taxpayer, while ensuring that victims of violence receive the support they need and perpetrators face up to their actions.

Triple P parenting programme
The Triple P – Positive Parenting Programme – has also been shown to have positive effects on reducing child maltreatment and injuries. Triple P is aimed at preventing severe behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents. It uses five levels of intervention of increasing strength for parents of children and adolescents from birth to age 16.

There is clear evidence that the programme can benefit children with disruptive behaviour disorders. It also helps with other disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, persistent feeding difficulties, pain syndromes, anxiety disorders, autism and developmental disabilities, achievement problems, habit disorders as well as everyday problems. The programme also recognises that parents differ in their needs for intervention and tailors the programme accordingly.