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4. Findings

NDADG Proposals and 'Child-Friendly text'

4.1 At each event, the 16 proposals produced by the NDADG were set out with their child-friendly' versions. Young people were shown both the 'child-friendly' version of the text alongside the wording of the original proposals. The 'child friendly' versions were used for the purposes of the consultations.

4.2 In this section, we set out both versions of the proposals consulted on in sessions, we describe the activities undertaken and report on the views of young people of the proposals

Sessions 1 and 2: Why adults should listen to us

4.3 The first session was used to provide explanations to young people about the events, the purpose of the day; and about why their views were important. The second session comprised some ice-breaker exercises to create an informal atmosphere where young people could feel relaxed.

Table 5: NDADG Proposals 1, 2 and 3

4.4 The consultation events themselves demonstrated the commitment of the Scottish Government to engage young people in the delivery plan proposals and ensure their voices were heard in shaping the proposals.

Session 3: Support I need

4.5 Session 3 was the first involving young people in substantive discussion of the proposals. This involved consulting on the proposals concerning funding, the use of group work as an effective intervention in their lives, and views of new technology as a way of improving communication with children experiencing domestic abuse.

Table 6: NDADG Proposals 13, 14 and 16

4.6 Participants were provided with short statements based on the proposals. Using a 'statement tree', they were asked to prioritise statements ('leaves') by placing them at various levels on a 'tree'. In this way, the relative importance of each statement was considered and recorded. It was also used as the catalyst for a discussion on the statements.

Child Support Workers

The first part of Session 3 discussed the statement 'Children's Support Workers'.

Table 7: Children's Support Workers

4.7 Young people participating in the consultation overwhelmingly valued their Children's Support Worker ( CSW). Across all the groups, this was consistently rated as very important. The reasons given included both the general role Children's Support Workers played in their lives and the specific assistance they gave. Examples provided included:

• Being there when a young person needed them; even making time in a busy schedule if necessary
• Listening to and understanding the young person and their feelings
• Being nice, helpful and welcoming
• Being easy to talk to.

4.8 Children's Support Workers were also valued because of the practical support they gave. Young people reported that worker's kept them informed about what was happening and helped them to understand why decisions were are being made. They provided advice, and help about with how to keep safe.

4.9 Children's Support Workers organised fun activities. Such activities were valued in their own right by the young people, but this also contributed to helping them forget their worries for a while. Children's workers also had a role in helping young people get along together in Refuge. Young people also mentioned that workers could provide childcare in the absence of their mother. They helped young people develop confidence.

4.10 This is one of the proposals consulted on where there was a consensus of views, and no negative comments. These positive attitudes to Children's Workers were reinforced in the 'voting exercise' and again in the statements posted in the 'private box':

• 'Keep the children's workers'
• 'Have more activities with Women's Aid so we don't get bored and unhappy'
• 'More Women's Aid/more money to Women's Aid'
• 'Do more to help children and their mums'

Conclusion

4.11 Respondents valued and recognised the benefits of a support worker who was focused on them and their needs. Given the difficulties and complexities in their lives (often including, having to move home, change school, issues of fear and concerns about safety), Child Support Workers were seen as trusted and accessible and as a source of information and support.

Group Work and Sharing Experiences

4.12 The second part of Session 3 concerned consulting young people on their views of being able to talk in groups with other young people who may have had similar experiences.

Table 8: Group work Intervention

4.13 Young people viewed the opportunity to talk about their experiences in a group as generally helpful. However, concerns were also raised. The point was made that young people should have control over whether or not they spoke about themselves at all. Some thought young people might not want to talk and may become upset in a group. They also highlighted that because their experiences and feelings were so personal, young people might not want to talk about them with other people.

4.14 The practical benefits of groups were questioned. Some felt that groups might not be useful because a participant might already know everything others are going to say. Conversely, others thought that hearing others speak could be useful, even if an individual young person did not want to talk. Aside from organised groups, some felt it may be useful to be able to talk informally to someone else with similar experiences, e.g. through being in a refuge together. However, the potential benefits to young people of groups was given by a young person who described how sharing experiences with other CYPEDA had been key in relieving their stress and pain and had been a process of 'repair'.

4.15 There were concerns about confidentiality in groups and about whether others could be trusted not to repeat what they had heard outside the group. Perhaps because of this, it was felt that there should also be opportunities for one to one support, in addition to group work.

4.16 In some of the consultation groups there had been little experience of group work, so not much comment was made. It was also mentioned that group discussions were too much 'like work' and that support should include more activities and breaks.

4.17 Participants felt that groups should be organised according to age group. Reasons for this included:

• Differing understanding of issues and knowledge according to age
• Younger children may not want to hear the experiences of older young people
• Being with people of similar age gives the opportunity to make friends
• Older children might be irritated by younger.

4.18 Young people viewed groups for mothers as positive. They were seen as a space for them to be able to talk about and improve understanding of their children, children's behaviour and emotions. They could improve communication between mothers and children. The potential that groups for mothers could help mother's support children better and improve relationships was acknowledged.

Conclusion

4.19 Group work was seen as potentially beneficial. Participants felt that young people experiencing domestic abuse are a diverse group and support should be tailored to them as individuals. Before involving young people with these experiences in group, it is important to ensure they are ready to discuss personal issues with others. Discussion of the pros and cons of participating in groups raised concerns about privacy, control of information, and the need for genuine informed consent.

The Internet, Email and Telephone

4.20 The third part of Session 3 discussed possibilities for using media such as the internet, email and telephone as effective methods of communicating with young people.

Table 9: Use of Technology to Communicate

Websites

4.21 Views were mixed about the usefulness of websites as a means of communicating with young people. On the positive side, websites were seen as a potential way of enabling young people to access information when they needed it and without anyone knowing. In some cases participants suggested specific 'cool' websites that could be used e.g. Bebo not Facebook.

4.22 Others stated that great care needed to be taken about how such websites were handled. For example, care was needed to ensure information was relevant to the diverse experiences of CYPEDA. In addition information made available needed to be carefully controlled to avoid information overload or frightening off young people.

4.23 Concern was also expressed about young people being able to access information via the internet. Younger children may not be able to access information this way. Where they did not already use the internet, it was unlikely that a young person would know such websites existed.

4.24 Confidentially was also a concern. This took many forms:

1. Some were unconvinced that young people would be able to look at a website privately without others ( e.g. class mates), being able to see that it was a website about domestic abuse.

2. Secondly, there was concern that someone may be able to find out that such a website had been accessed ( e.g. teacher, mother or even the perpetrator). Real fear was expressed about being discovered having accessed a website.

3. Thirdly, some had little faith in security of websites and believed they could be 'hacked into' by anyone. For these reasons some young people could not or would be unlikely to use web based information.

4.25 It should be noted that these were the views of a particular group of young people who had experienced domestic abuse. All were being supported by Women's Aid. Other young people with different experiences and at different stages in the process of dealing with domestic abuse may find websites more useful, for example for young people without support who may be seeking initial information.

Email

4.26 Support using email was viewed less favourably than face to face support from Children's Support Workers and support provided through groups.

4.27 As with the use of websites, there were concerns about practicalities, for example, how to access a computer confidentially, how to obtain and use email account, how people would know the service existed.

4.28 Again, lack of trust about maintaining confidentiality was echoed in relation to email. The absence of human contact was also viewed as problematic. Young people felt that if they did not know the person at the other end of the email, young people would not be able to trust them and they may not use the service. They felt it would be problematic to trust that the information they gave would be kept confidential.

Text Helpline

4.29 A preference for face to face communication was also raised in relation to texting. It was acknowledged that for some young people texting may be easier than talking; and for people with difficulties in communicating orally this could be a preferred method.

4.30 Young people suggested that the downside of texting was that 'conversation' could take a long time. Also, texting relies on: an ability to communicate using a specific method of typing; having access to a phone; having credit to use the phone; and then knowing what to write. Young people may not always have these available.

4.31 The need to ensure privacy and confidentiality was again raised as an issue. Consequently texting was less well supported as a method of communicating with young people, with ambivalence expressed about how well it would work for them.

Helpline

4.32 Similar issues were raised in relation to helplines. To use a helpline requires confidential access to a telephone. This is not always possible for young people. The importance of free phone numbers was felt to be a prerequisite for such a service to work.

4.33 Anxieties were expressed about a different person answering the helpline for each call and young people stressed the importance of being able to talk to the same person each time. As with email, respondents were suspicious of talking to a 'stranger' and were concerned that this meant confidentiality was not guaranteed. The importance of advertising the service to ensure young people knew the number was considered important.

4.34 The potential benefits of being able to talk to an individual with knowledge of domestic abuse, and of being able to obtain help without a parent's knowledge were thought to be useful. However, it was also felt that if the young person could contact their support worker via the helpline many of these points would be addressed.

Conclusion

4.35 The young people saw benefits of new technology such as the internet, email and telephones, as a vehicle for support. However, they expressed concern that the information held about them and their lives needed to be kept confidential (from parents, friends and professionals). This meant some would find it difficult to trust these communication platforms. There were also practical difficulties for some in accessing a phone or computer and doing so in a confidential way. In general computers and phones were less favoured by young people than being able to access face to face communication.

Session 4: Help From Others

4.36 This section covers the findings from the second exercise 'Help from Others'. The purpose of this session was to examine how public agencies and professionals could best support young people experiencing domestic abuse.

Table 10: NDADG Proposals 4, 9 and 10

4.37 In these exercises young people considered the proposals on the provision of public and other agencies could make to young people in this situation. Using visual prompts, participants were asked to suggest how professionals such as teachers, social workers, police and doctors could support children and young people experiencing domestic abuse.

Teachers

Table 11: Teachers

4.38 This exercise involved asking participants to imagine a young person telling a teacher about domestic abuse. They were asked (1) what a bad teacher would do in these circumstances, and (2) what a good teacher would do and what the benefits of this might be.

4.39 Findings from this section suggested that young people's prior experiences of teachers meant they did not generally view them as sympathetic. This had an impact on the extent to which participants would consider confiding in a teacher. For example, young people reported that they viewed 'bad' teachers as people who:

• shout at young people
• do not listen
• tell them to 'sit down'
• patronise them.

4.40 With this as their perception of teachers, it was unsurprising that young people were unlikely to report that they would speak to teachers about difficult issues; indeed some were definite that they would not consider telling a teacher. Good teachers were perceived as being happy and nice, kind and do not shout or talk down to young people.

4.41 Again a strong theme emerged about trust. Young people were concerned about whether or not a teacher could or would keep information confidential. They suggested a number of ways in which confidentiality could be breached: through deliberate reporting to a head teacher or the police, inadvertently letting it slip to another teacher or fellow pupils, or a young person being overheard by other pupils. Participants repeatedly made the point that they wanted the teacher to 'keep it a secret' and to ensure that other staff and pupils did not obtain the information.

4.42 There were also contradictory views on possible actions a teacher could take. For some, a 'bad' teacher would call the young person's mother or father without their consent. A good teacher might talk to the father and/or help the mother.

4.43 Potential for teachers to be constructive and help the young person was also reported. They might do this by:

• Being supportive
• Giving advice
• Trying to help
• Building confidence
• Being more understanding of the child if they knew what was happening
• Helping a child to tell someone else.

4.44 For others, a teacher was someone to whom they would not disclose domestic abuse. They would prefer to talk to someone else they could trust. The reasons for this were:

• It was not their business
• They did not want the fuss the teacher would create
• Teachers should not know personal circumstances, even where the situation was affecting school work
• They would not understand the situation or the young person's feelings and could give incorrect information.

Conclusion

4.45 In considering the kind of help a teacher might offer a young person experiencing domestic abuse, views of young people participating in the consultations were mixed. Responses suggest that young people's own prior experiences of teachers was key to whether or not a young person viewed a teacher as a potential source of support or not; or as someone to whom they might disclose an experience of domestic abuse. Some did see teachers as a potential source of advice and help, but only if they were a particularly 'good' teacher. Others reported that they would not talk to a teacher because teachers were not perceived as sympathetic or dependable. Again, there were concerns about trust and lack of confidentiality, and this could prevent disclosure.

Other professionals

4.46 This session examined the views of young people about how other professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers and police officers might be able to help young people experiencing domestic abuse.

Table 12: Other Professionals

4.47 Participants were shown individual pictures of a social worker, police, doctor and nurse. They were then asked to suggest other people who young people in this situation might find helpful. Participants were asked to consider what kind of things these professionals needed to know and to do to best help young people experiencing domestic abuse.

Doctors

4.48 Young people had mixed views about doctors. Some doctors were perceived to be 'nice', others however, would not make the effort to speak to patients; it depended on the individual doctor.

4.49 Young people also had mixed views about the extent to which doctors should try to obtain information from people about domestic abuse. Some young people thought doctors did not need to know about a domestic abuse situation. For others, it was important that a doctor knew about the situation in order to understand what was wrong with a mother or child. Indeed some of the participants talked about a child experiencing domestic abuse as being 'hurt'.

Social workers

4.50 Views of social workers were that they could be a support to young people. Social workers were potentially kind and nice, and able to offer reassurance. They were perceived to be people who could and should know about domestic abuse; about know how a child feels and would have an understanding of what was happening to them. They would let a child have their say, and would listen to them and understand. Social workers could offer practical help to young people by arranging access to support programmes, by cheering up a child and by organising activities to take their mind off things.

4.51 However, warnings were also sounded. For a sample of participants, social workers were associated with taking children away from their parents. Because of this some young people did not want to be associated with social workers.

Police

4.52 Young people's prior experience of police officers affected the extent to which they thought they could relate to them. Negative views stemmed from experiences of the police as more concerned with confronting young people who were 'doing nothing wrong'. In these cases, it was unlikely that they would easily talk to a police officer about their experience of domestic abuse. In some instances the perceived role of the police was to deal with crime and not 'personal issues'.

4.53 Some participants thought the police could provide practical intervention and, if they were called to an incident, they could talk to the man and calm him down, or, arrest the man and calm the mother down. Some participants seemed to see this in the context of a child being hurt. In these circumstances they felt the police should question the child as to what had happened.

4.54 It was suggested that it would be useful for police to talk to the children and tell them what was happening. Others believed police should concentrate on the adults, not the children.

4.55 A specific point was made about how younger children might be frightened of the police. Some felt that a police liaison officer who could ensure that young people were dealt with by the same officer, and not have to repeat their information to a number of different people, was important. In relation to police there were also concerns about confidentiality and privacy. An example was given of police being called to an incident, arriving with sirens on, parking, leaving the 'panda car' outside the house and calling attention to the situation. This could result in neighbours knowing who the person was, what the issue was and talking about it to others. Young people did not want this.

Other People

4.56 Aside from professionals, some young people felt there may be other adults or perhaps a friend who could be trusted to talk to about their experiences. Again, it would be important that the information was not passed on without explicit agreement.

Conclusion

4.57 With regard to support from other professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers and police, there was little sense that young people considered them to be people they would be able to trust, relate to and talk to about their experiences. Overall, they seemed ambivalent about approaching professionals. While the potential help they could give was recognised, there was concern about how their information would be handled and this might not be in a way the young person would want. Their prior experiences of professionals was key to understanding their current perceptions of and attitudes to different professionals; and also to their decisions about whether or not they were people who could help. Disclosing domestic abuse to a professional risked information being passed on out with their control; something about which young people were extremely wary.

Session 5: Keeping Children Safe

4.58 In this session the aim was to discuss the proposals on safety, court processes and legal measures concerning access and perpetrator programmes. These were the most difficult of the proposals to consult on. This was partly because of their very personal nature and partly because young people's views of these matters would be dependent on them having direct experience of them. Because of this, not all participants were involved in these discussions.

Table 13: NDADG Proposals 15, 8, 11 and 7

4.59 This session used a vignette about Jo and his/her experience of domestic abuse. This was used to discuss issues of accommodation, the courts, parental contact and perpetrator programmes. Participants considered the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the statements and explored why this was the case.

Accommodation

Table 14: Accommodation

Staying at Home

4.60 There was some agreement that young people should be able to stay with their mother in their own home when domestic abuse had occurred; and that the perpetrator should move out. In some cases young people saw this as preferable to them having to move house. It meant young people could keep existing friends, stay at the same school. They did not have to 'start again'. Conversely, other young people mentioned that moving could serve as a break and as an escape from painful memories.

4.61 Some of the young people clearly found it difficult to conceive that the safety of a mother and her children could be ensured in circumstances where they remained at home. Moving was seen as necessary to prevent further attacks from the perpetrator or from people he knew, and to avoid them being found. This was the case even where a custodial sentence had been served.

Refuge Accommodation

4.62 There was agreement from young people about the positives of the newer model of refuge accommodation. These refuges were seen as places of safety, where there were things to do, with people available to support their mother and her children. Some young people did not think it was good to share accommodation with other families, others thought there was not enough to do in the refuge.

4.63 Young people's priorities for refuges included the need for privacy, having space, less noise and being close to others with similar experiences. There was a request for refuges for teenage mothers. One potential difficulty with having designated space for specific age groups was that it might prevent siblings playing together.

Courts

Table 15: Court Processes

4.64 There were diverse views about the effectiveness of court processes. This was related in part to young people's prior knowledge and direct experience of court. Some felt that it would be positive if a court could deal more rapidly with cases, with 'less palaver' and in a way where people felt safer. Some questioned whether improved court processes could actually stop the domestic abuse. If not, it was thought that courts would be of little help.

4.65 For some young people, discussion of court raised complicated issues for them. Some reported that they had felt confused about what had happened at court; that they did not know who to believe when parents were saying different things in court. They seemed to have had little information or understanding about what was going on. Some young people expressed the view that it was important that those in court understood the situation families were in and that young people should have the opportunity to give their views.

4.66 Attendance at court could be frightening. One participant expressed feeling afraid of being left alone in a room; but they felt more secure due to the presence of an armed police officer. One suggestion was for a special room for children, where a support worker could be present.

Safe Contact with the Perpetrator

Table 16: Contact

4.67 Discussion about contact with the perpetrator also seemed to raise complex issues for young people. Views on this again seemed to depend on young people's prior experience and knowledge of domestic abuse. For some young people, it was obvious that there was a danger in a perpetrator having access to a child and they felt that having a law that kept young people safe was positive. Others, however, interpreted the law as meaning they might not be able to see their father and they expressed not wanting to disappoint him, or to let him or their mother down. Young people suggested that there should be a check to make sure the law was working; otherwise there was no point in having such a law.

Perpetrator Programmes

Table 17: Programmes

4.68 Generally there was support from participants for perpetrator programmes. Young people felt that men should have help available to learn to 'control their anger'. It was suggested that this should be predicated on the offender wanting help. Some expressed concern that forcing perpetrators into programmes might inflame the situation. They felt that programmes would need to be judged on their results. It was clear some young people were sceptical about this.

Conclusion

4.69 Proposals on safety, courts and legal measures regarding access and perpetrator programmes were the most difficult of the proposals to consult on. This was partly because of their personal nature and partly because young people's views seemed dependent on having had direct experience of them. Young people felt positively about new style refuges, about there being genuinely safe options for being able to stay at home with mothers following domestic abuse, of courts dealing speedily and well with domestic abuse, of the possibility of having safe contact with perpetrators and of perpetrator programmes. However, some scepticism was expressed about how these would work; their support for them would be dependent on them being demonstrated to work in practice.

Session 6: Getting the message out

4.70 This session explored with participants the idea that all children should know that Domestic Abuse is not acceptable and should be prevented. They were asked to consider the proposals about the importance of people being involved in the future development of the delivery plan.

Table 18: NDADG Proposals 5 and 6

Future Involvement

4.71 Young people felt that it was important they were involved in the future development of the delivery plan for a number of reasons. Adults do not always understand and are not always good at listening. It was also acknowledged that in other instances adults did seem aware of young people's vulnerability. It was also felt important to recognise that sometimes young people could not contribute because they sometimes felt confused and might not want to talk. Where young people were given the opportunity to contribute it was felt that they could do so usefully. Asked about the statement 'children are good at teaching adults stuff' young people agreed with it because young people:

• Have opinions
• Know things
• Sometimes understand other young people's feelings better than adults.

Conclusion

4.72 With regard to why young people should be consulted on the future development of delivery plans, participants felt it was important because, adults do not understand and are not always good at listening. Where young people are given the opportunity to contribute they could do so usefully.

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