Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber members had the chance to find out about how Child to Parent Abuse could be impacting their employees.
Michelle John, Founding Director of PEGS, joined the online HR Forum on Wednesday 2nd March to discuss the work the social enterprise has been doing to support parents, carers and guardians impacted by CPA.
This includes launching an Employer Covenant in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, in response to PEGS research which showed 70% of parents had either been forced to reduce their hours or quit work altogether as a result of the abuse they were experiencing at home
The Covenant is free for all organisations to sign, and acts as a pledge that they will explore how to implement policies and practices which support any of their staff (and service users, if applicable) who are experiencing abuse.
Anyone signing up gets access to a free webinar hosted by the PEGS team, HR resources, information about CPA, and ongoing support.
CPA is historically under-reported and under-researched, so it’s not known exactly how many families are impacted – but experts estimate at least 3% and as many as 10% of UK households could be affected.
The abusive behaviour can be displayed by children of any age (including adult offspring) and can include physical violence, emotional and verbal abuse, coercion and control, financial abuse and even sexual abuse.
As well as providing virtual drop-ins, a closed peer support group, advocacy, one-to-ones, and bespoke workshops and programmes for those impacted, PEGS also works across the UK training frontline professionals including health authorities, voluntary organisations, police forces, social care teams and many others.
Michelle, who is a finalist in the WISE100 social enterprise awards in the Star of the Future category, acts as a consultant to the Home Office and other regional and national bodies who are implementing or introducing CPA policies, and the team also aim to raise as much awareness as possible for this often-hidden issue.
Michelle said: “I’d like to thank the Chamber for the opportunity to share an overview of CPA and how it can impact the work lives of parents, carers and guardians. I’d also like to thank the employers who attended the session and took the time to find out about CPA.
“We are keen to work with any employer – whether public, private or voluntary sector – as the more awareness we can raise and the more support we can provide, the more we give parents a voice and hope for the future.”
Visit www.pegsupport.co.uk or search PEGS Support on social media to find out more about the organisation, and for more information on the Employer Covenant, visit www.pegsupport.co.uk/CPAC