Families, Alcohol and Domestic Violence

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• Families, Alcohol and Domestic Violence

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• Stella Project is a partnership initiative
  between the GLDVP and GLADA launched in Dec 2002
• As the leading agency addressing drug and alcohol
  related domestic violence and abuse, the Stella
  Project works for positive, sustained improvement
  in the way services are delivered to survivors,
  their children and perpetrators of domestic
  violence affected by problematic substance use
• Provide support, advice, training, consultancy,
  toolkits and good practice guidelines and
  networking opportunities to drug, alcohol and
  domestic violence agencies
• Production of Toolkit and Family and Friends
  leaflet on domestic violence

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Domestic Violence

• DV is widely defined as the systematic use of
  violence and abuse to gain power over and to
  control a partner or ex-partner. Domestic
  violence occurs across all cultures, ages, ethnic
  groups and social classes.
• As well as covering physical violence including
  all forms of aggressive or unwanted physical
  contact and sexual violence domestic violence
  includes non-physical abuse such as verbal,
  social, racist, psychological or emotional abuse,
  threats, neglect, harassment and the use of
  economic, structural, institutional or spiritual
  abuse.

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Substance Use and Domestic Violence

• BCS (1995-2005) - between 30-53 of dv offenders
  were under the influence of alcohol at the time
  of the incident. 10-17 for drugs
• A number of US studies have shown that between
  44-58 of men in drug or alcohol treatment
  reported using physical violence towards a
  partner in the year prior to treatment
• Home Office research on domestic violence
  offenders (n 336) showed 73 had used alcohol
  prior to the offence, with 48 seen as alcohol
  dependent

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Links and Differences

• Substance use does not cause domestic violence
  nor abuse to children
• Drunkenness is certainly a demonstrable risk
  factor (Gondolf 1995)
• But intoxication is not an excuse for
  unacceptable behaviour
• Expectation of intoxication is a better predictor
  of aggression than actual intoxication. Can be
  seen as learned dis-inhibition

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Continued..

• Perpetrators are likely to have used violence
  and very likely to have used abuse and other
  controlling behaviours - when not intoxicated
• Perpetrators will not have used violence and
  abuse every time they are intoxicated

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Its only when I drink!

• Disinhibition theory is not a sufficient
  explanation alcohol does not cause dv
• Research suggests that the most significant
  determinant behaviour after drinking is not the
  physiological effect of the alcohol itself, but
  the expectation that individuals place on the
  drinking experience

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I wasnt myself!

• Alcohol expectancy if someone is motivated to
  feel more powerful, aggressive, funny and expects
  a substance to perform this transformation,
  usually the substance complies
• Abusers may believe that alcohol disinhibits
  them, making them violent, however the
  expectation of an alcohol aggression effect may
  better predict aggressive behaviour than alcohol
  itself Bennet et al 2003
• Deviancy disavowal creating a period of time
  out while drinking that permits an individual to
  engage in deviant behaviour without being viewed
  as a deviant
• Conflict is not a universal
• result of alcohols effects on cognition
• which suggests its disinhibiting properties are
• insufficient as an explanation for conflict
• (Galvani 2004)

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I wasnt myself!!

• A small scale study in the UK showed that the
  majority of women interviewed about the role of
  alcohol in their partners abuse had also
  experienced violence when their partner had not
  been drinking
• The majority of women reported that the level of
  aggression of their partner depended on a number
  of variables in addition to the alcohol e.g.
  pre-drinking mood, aggression and worries
  environmental factors personality specific
  factors and individual goals of drinking.
• Responsible disinhibition
• Reflects womens views that men are violent to
  women
• after drinking through a combination of alcohols
  effects,
• individual or contextual factors and personal
  choice
• (Galvani 2003)

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Model of Responsible Disinhibition
Alcohol
Man
Disinhibiting effects of alcohol
Pre-/during/post- drinking factors
Choice
No violence or abuse
Violence and abuse
Alcohol does not remove personal agency
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• A recent UK study showed that 51 of respondents
  from domestic violence agencies claimed that
  either themselves or their partners had used
  drugs, alcohol and/or prescribed medication in
  problematic ways in the last five years
  (Humphreys et al, 2005).
• Almost two thirds of survivors drawn from
  domestic violence agencies in the same study
  showed that they began there problematic
  substance use following their experiences of
  domestic violence (Humphreys et al, 2005).
• A one week screening period of women in domestic
  violence agencies in East and West London (n80)
  revealed that 44 reported their own problematic
  substance use (Humphreys et al 2005).

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Children living with parental drinking and
Domestic Violence

• The link between child physical abuse and
  domestic violence is high, with estimates ranging
  between 30 to 66 depending upon the study
  (Hester et al, 2000 Edleson, 1999 Humphreys
  Thiara, 2002)
• UK study of social work with families with
  alcohol problems found that alcohol misuse was
  strongly associated with violence in the home
  (Harwin Forrester 2002)
• 70 of children in refuges have also been abused
  by their father
• Over 30,000 children spend at least one night in
  a refuge in England in a year (Stanko, 2000)

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• At least 750,000 children a year witness domestic
  violence. Nearly ¾ of children on the at risk
  register live in households where domestic
  violence occurs (DoH 2003)
• 90 of children in households with children
  where domestic violence occurs are in the same or
  next room
• Childline report that 44 of children who called
  about a significant others alcohol misuse had
  called primarily to talk about the physical abuse
  they had experienced. 29 who had called about
  significant others drug use reported physical
  abuse (GLADA Highs and Lows 2, 2007)

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• number of children affected by parental alcohol
  problems, estimates vary between 300,000 and 2.5
  million
• A significant number of children affected by both
  issues

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Consequences

• Domestic violence increases in frequency and
  severity over time.
• Substance misuse tends to escalate without
  support/treatment. Increased dependency
  physical and psychological.
• Significant harm to children.

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Children Say

• "Grown-ups think they should hide it and
  shouldn't tell us, but we want to know. We want
  to be involved and we want our mums to talk with
  us about what they are going to do - we could
  help make decisions.
• For years, I mean I was told by consultants and
  people, you know, 'you're only a little girl,
  what do you know?' Sort of at the age of 15 I was
  told this. You know it is so frustrating when
  you're trying to say 'I live with my mother, I
  see it'.

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Parallels between the potential negative effects
of parental alcoholproblems and domestic abuse
on children(Galvani)

• Parental alcohol problems
• Social isolation, stigma and keeping
• secrets
• Emotional neglect and abuse
• Behavioural changes or problems
• Developmental delay incl. in utero
• Potential damage to the foetus from
• heavy drinking
• Psychological / psychiatric problems
• Poor supervision
• Inconsistent and poor quality care
• Overly punitive discipline
• Child feeling fearful and responsible
• Disrupted play and leisure time
• Disrupted routines, eg. school attendance
• Low self esteem/self confidence
• Disrupted attachment to parents
• Difficulties in their adult relationships

• Domestic abuse
• Social isolation, stigma and secrets
• Emotional neglect and abuse
• Behavioural changes or problems
• Developmental delay
• Damage to foetus/miscarriage from physical abuse
  targeted at stomach
• Psychological/psychiatric problems
• Inconsistent and poor quality care
• Overly punitive discipline
• Child feeling fearful and responsible
• Disrupted play and leisure time
• Disrupted routines, eg. school attendance
• Low self esteem and self confidence
• Physical and sexual abuse
• Conflicting loyalties towards parents
• Difficulties in their adult relationships

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Risks and consequences..

• Use of family resources to finance dependency
  characterised by inadequate food, heating,
  clothing etc
• Exposing children to unsuitable care givers or
  visitors or total lack of supervision
• Childrens absenteeism from school or other
  school related issues
• Children taking on the role of carer either for
  other siblings or the parent (s)
• Effects of drugs/alcohol which may lead to
  uninhibited behaviours e.g. inappropriate display
  of sexual and/or aggressive behaviour and reduced
  parental vigilance
• Unsafe storage of alcohol or drugs, prescribed
  medication giving children unsafe access

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Worrying Work

• From the front line.
• When to raise the alert?
• What are my responsibilities?
• How do I ask?
• What do I do when some ones discloses?
• doing the right thing

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Good practise

• Child focused concern (as opposed to substance
  use concern) as way of addressing issue in a non
  threatening nor stigmatizing way.
• Making mothers safer is a form of child
  protection.

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• Transparency of decision making. shown as most
  helpful to families, especially young people in
  the research.
• Clear age appropriate information. Consistently
  requested by young people.
• Inviting responsibility people have desire to
  do whats best for their children invite
  further action from this desire.

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Joining up and moving forward

• Training and support for all substance use
  workers (especially focused on domestic violence
  and safeguarding children)
• Routine enquiry for substance use and domestic
  violence
• Targeted support for pregnant women with
  additional support needs
• Joining up the domestic violence and substance
  use sector for good multi agency working

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• Parent and family workers within substance misuse
  agencies to be trained around dv and how to
  respond effectively
• Involvement of drug/alcohol agencies into
  Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACS)
  and IDVAs (Independent Domestic Violence
  Advisors)
• Couples counselling/ family therapy and anger
  management courses are not appropriate. Greater
  learning's on the complexities of supporting
  children and families.

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• www.gldvp.org.uk
• info_at_gldvp.org.uk
• Amanda.middleton_at_gldvp.org.uk
• 0207 785 3862