Child to parent violence has more than quadrupled during pandemic
By Picture Posed Model :
The number of parents who have had to seek support from a national helpline to deal with their violent children has more than quadrupled in 2020 with Parentline linking the increase to the pandemic.
From January to September 2019, 30 families completed Parentline's Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) programme, which helps parents deal with violent children.
In the same period this year, 146 families completed the course. According to the organisation's CEO, Aileen Hickie, "many more" are on a waiting list.
In September 2019 there was just one family enrolled on the Parentline NVR programme. A year later there were 37 families enrolled.
Boys aged 12 to 17 made up most of those involved in incidents of violence against their parents. Around 10% were over 18.
Of the 2,943 calls received up to September this year, 27% were from parents who wanted help and advice about “anger and aggression” from their children.
Calls in that period were up 37% from the 2,144 in the same period in 2019.
The charity, set up in 1982 as a support group for new mothers with young babies, has grown into a national helpline.
As a result of the increase in calls during Covid-19, Aileen Hickie says she now needs more volunteers to cope with the demand.
She said the figures, which are currently being collated for their annual research report, due out by early January, are “alarming”.
“We have definitely noticed a large increase in calls from parents who are being abused in one way or another by their children,” she told the .
“It is anything from verbal abuse and other signs of aggression or intimidation to full-on physical assault.
She put the increase down to families having to spend far more time in each other’s company than they would previously. Parents enrolling on the NVR programme are “not there because their child threw a tantrum”, she added.
They are on the programme because they need help to deal with and defuse abusive and aggressive incidents and to respond to and change violent and controlling behaviour.
Child to parent abuse expert Dr Declan Coogan, of National University of Ireland, Galway, said: “Non-Violent Resistance is an evidence-based and relatively short-term intervention model that empowers parents to take positive action to end the abusive and/or violent behaviour of a child.”
A Garda spokesperson said the force has not seen an increase of this type of incident but added: "An Garda Síochána continues to treat all instances of domestic abuse as a priority and once again re-enforces our commitment to ‘keeping people safe’, and in particular the victims of coercive control, domestic, and sexual abuse."
Parentline’s helpline can be contacted during the day on 01 873 3500.