Scottish Government

Introduction, Purpose and Context

1.1 About the Guidance Note

This Guidance Note has been produced to accompany The Scottish Government's National Domestic Abuse Delivery Plan for Children and Young People (The Delivery Plan) published in June 2008.

Until recently there was relatively little robust, reliable information about the experiences and support needs of children and young people experiencing domestic abuse living in Scotland. Since 2000, a number of studies have been conducted, contributing much to our knowledge. With the help of children and young people concerned, we are beginning to build a fuller picture of their lives, experiences and support needs (Fitzpatrick, 2003; Houghton, 2006; Stafford et al, 2007). Some of these initiatives were conducted as part of the process of developing the Delivery Plan. The aim of the Delivery Plan was to ensure that carefully developed priorities were taken up and implemented nationally and locally:

'to enable more effective protection, provision, prevention and participation for all children, young people and their families affected, or at risk of being affected, by domestic abuse in Scotland' (Scottish Government, 2008).

The Delivery Plan was shaped by children and young people who had experienced domestic abuse. It also contained a commitment that young people would continue to be involved in the three year implementation and review process.

The aim of this Guidance Note is to share some of the learning from the work that took place with children and young people to develop the Delivery Plan, in order to provide those responsible for implementing the Delivery Plan with tools and resources needed for the ongoing process of involving children and young people in the Plan's implementation. The Guidance may also be of interest to others who wish to work in participative ways with children and young people in vulnerable situations.

It provides practical information about consulting, researching and working in participative ways with children and young people experiencing domestic abuse.
It sets out some principles on safe, effective engagement. It discusses the importance of planning and the need for careful consideration of young people's safety and wellbeing. It highlights challenges in seeking children's freely given consent and the importance to this particular group of young people of privacy and confidentiality.

It is important to be clear that this Guidance Note does not aim to be a definitive or exhaustive guide to all the issues that may arise in relation to consulting, researching and working in participative ways with children and young people experiencing domestic abuse. Nor does it provide easy answers to issues such as consent and confidentiality. The Guidance is intended as a starting point to highlight issues that readers need to consider, to stimulate thinking about these issues and to enable readers to explore in more detail what this means for their own work. The Guidance contains a range of references to other resources which it is hoped will support readers in doing this.

1.2 What do we mean by 'engagement'

There are many terms in public use referring to the process of engaging children and young people, including; consultation, participation, engagement and research.
The then Scottish Executive, in its guidance 'Engaging Children and Young People in Community Planning', highlights that children can be involved in different ways:

'Listening to their views (consultation); enlisting their help (participation) and involving them in decision making, monitoring and evaluation' (Scottish Executive, 2006).

This Guidance Note addresses the first two of these processes in relation to children and young people experiencing domestic abuse; listening to their views - consultation, and enlisting their help for the purposes of informing policy and service delivery - participation. For convenience, we use the term 'engagement' to refer to the range of participative activities with children and young people including, research, consultation and seeking their views to inform policy and services.

1.3 Why engage children and young people in general

Government in Scotland has for some time advocated that public input leads to more effective policy making and better services (Scottish Executive, 2006). With regard to children, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the UK government in 1991, places an obligation on countries to ensure children have the right to express their views freely and that 'the views of the child be given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child' (cited in Scottish Executive, 2006).

This commitment to listen to children has been taken forward and expressed by the Scottish Government in a range of national policy and initiatives including the Delivery Plan. It explicitly states that it is the right of all children to be active participants in the decisions and actions that affect their lives, in ways that suit their age, stage and circumstances (Scottish Government, 2008).

While there is an obligation to consult children about matters affecting them, it is also increasingly recognised across numerous research studies that children have capacity to influence and shape events around them; that they are able and often want to be part of the policy decision making process and to make a difference (Mayall, 2002; Mullender et al, 2003). This is particularly the case where they are asked about issues of direct concern to them, where they can see that outcomes are likely to be beneficial to themselves or to others, and where the process of consultation and engagement is seen as inclusive, purposeful and fair (Stafford et al, 2003).

1.4 Why engage children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse?

In this section we provide reasons why it is important to consult children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse. First (a) they are a discrete group of young people who have had specific experiences and particular needs which need to be taken into account when engaging them. Second (b) without their perspectives, our understanding of domestic abuse would be incomplete.

a. Children and young people experiencing domestic abuse: a discrete group with specific experiences and particular needs

Recent research provides insights into key differences between young people who have experienced domestic and other populations of young people. For example, it is likely that these young people will have experienced: multiple house moves; complex relationships with adults; disrupted home lives and schooling. They may have suffered significant loss of possessions, friends and pets. They may be at continued risk of harm after they have moved away from the perpetrator. They may also carry high levels of fear and anxiety, even when they are in new living situations and in relative safety (Mullender et al, 2003; Houghton, forthcoming; Stafford et al, 2007). As a result, concerns about safety, privacy and anonymity may be heightened. These factors need to be taken into account in any attempt to engage and involve this group of children and young people in decision making.

b. Children and young people experiencing domestic abuse: obtaining a more complete picture of domestic abuse

It is also important to engage children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse because without their views and perspectives, the picture of what happens in households where there is domestic abuse is incomplete (Mullender et al, 2003).

Early research into children and domestic abuse in the 1980s and 1990s, tended to describe children as 'witnesses' to domestic abuse, or observers of it (Houghton, forthcoming). More recently, research has highlighted that children view domestic abuse as something that is happening to them as well as to mothers (Houghton, forthcoming; Mullender et al, 2003; Stafford et al, 2007). Young people experiencing domestic abuse often have their own understandings and ways of coping; and strategies for keeping themselves and siblings safe (Mullender et al, 2003; Houghton, 2006; Stafford et al, 2007):

'…children's awareness of domestic abuse and extent of abuse is often greater than many women thought (and hoped)' (Houghton, forthcoming)

'The action children take to protect themselves or their siblings, or intervene in the abuse can be hidden or unknown to the mother' (Houghton, forthcoming).

The Delivery Plan itself has also already highlighted this: that children experiencing domestic abuse have a unique perspective, different from mothers, about what it is like to experience domestic abuse; to live with an abusive father; to move house or school; to maintain contact with the perpetrator; to receive services (Scottish Government, 2008). New initiatives developed as a result of the Delivery Plan need to ensure they include ongoing views of young people themselves to ensure developments are based on a complete picture of domestic abuse.