Research Shows At Least 40% of Child-to-Parent Violence and Abuse Cases in the U.K. Unreported

Child-to-Parent Violence Child-to-Parent Abuse Violence Reduction Unit

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Apr 15, 04:00 pm

Photo: (Photo : Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

At least 40 percent of child-to-parent violence and abuse incidents are unreported to police, according to a recent study. The Guardian reported that the research was commissioned by the London mayor's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) to look into the "hidden harm" done by children to their parents.

They found that the rate of violence and abuse against parents and carers was highest among those who are aged 19-25, and 81 percent of the perpetrators turned out to be male. The research, by the independent consultancy Ecorys, found that 89 percent of victims of recorded incidents such as intimidation, harassment, financial abuse, threats, attacks, and coercive control, were a parent of the accused.

Experts said numbers were probably greater than those reported, and they were expected to rise. The study comes after a campaign launched by Mayor Sadiq Khan last month which highlights the importance of tackling misogyny as a cause of violence against girls and women.

Majority of cases take place between adolescent boys and mothers

London mayor Khan issued a statement following the release of the study, saying "I want all Londoners, including parents and carers, to have confidence in reporting concerns so that services can intervene much earlier and provide the support families need and deserve."

The research showed that abuse between adolescents and parents or carers is gendered too. According to the study, the majority of known cases took place between adolescent boys and their mothers. The research also found that violence and abuse inflicted by young women and girls to their parents appears to receive a different response and intervention.

Figures showed that while the number of violent incidents peaked in 2018, they fell in subsequent years. Incidents only began rising slightly again during the first national Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, which exacerbated violent and abusive situations in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Most of the victims were female and between the ages of 40 and 54

The research also revealed that more than two-thirds of the victims were female, and most of the victims were between the ages of 40 and 54. Based on data from 2011 to 2020, the study found that while there was no single cause of child-to-parent abuse and violence, the issue was often underreported to the police due to fears of stigmatization, criminalization, or the risk of having the victim's child removed from their homes.

Other factors that make child-to-parent violence underreported include linguistic and cultural barriers, and a mistrust of services resulting in patchwork support for families. The analysis in the study adds that while these cases occur in families across various ethnicities, communities, and socioeconomic status, people from ethnic minorities were overrepresented when compared with the population of England and particularly in London.

Child or adolescent to parent violence and abuse (CAPVA) do not have its own legal definition, but it is understood as a form of domestic abuse in cases involving young people over the age of 16, meaning people under the age of 16 are at times treated as adult perpetrators. According to Pac-UK, Child to Parent Violence (CPV) is a pattern of psychological, emotional, and physical behavior seen in children and adolescents who cannot regulate their feelings in other ways.