PEGS is delighted to announce that they are hosting a conference on their Child to Parent Abuse Covenant (CPAC) in November.

CPAC is a free resource for any UK employer and was launched in October 2021 with the support of the Department for Work and Pensions. The main aim of the covenant is to help employers effectively support staff and volunteers who are experiencing abusive behaviours from their children.

The term Child to Parent Abuse (CPA) covers a range of abusive behaviours displayed by a child of any age (including adult offspring), towards their parent, carer, or guardian. Often other family members such as siblings are impacted too, and experts believe between 3% and 10% of UK households could be affected.

CPA includes physical, financial, verbal, emotional, digital, and even sexual abuse – and often has a profound impact not only on family life but also on the parent’s relationships, physical health, mental well-being, and employment.

In 2021, 70% of parents told PEGS how their employment has been impacted resulting in a reduction in work hours or parents having to leave employment altogether. This figure increased to 74% in 2022. You can find out more about the impact of CPA on parents, carers, and guardians linked here. 

PEGS has had a successful first 2 years of the CPAC in encouraging employers from various sectors to sign up to the covenant, from national charities through to statutory services - with Telford and Wrekin Council being the only Local authority in the UK to have signed up, and smaller independent businesses who have shown their commitment to the Covenant and their staff. 

Our Founding Director Michelle John explained the main aim was to ensure employers included CPA in their policies and practices around domestic abuse, as well as bringing the often-hidden issue to the attention of more organisations across the UK.

“With so many parents telling us how their work was being affected due to their child’s behaviour, we wanted to change this for them and decided to create a scheme to help employers to help their employees and volunteers. Having the support from the DWP to create the covenant has been incredible."

The conference will highlight the need for employers to become more informed of Child to Parent Abuse, the impact that it has on employees and volunteers, as well as hearing from those who have signed the CPAC already. 

There will be keynote talks from PEGS' Founding Director, a panel of employers, a fireside chat with another covenant, and lived experiences. With attendance from local, regional, and national employers across a multitude of sectors, this is set to be a powerful and enlightening event.

The conference is being held on Tuesday 21st November, from 1pm - 4pm at the National Halifax Flagship Office - 118,132 New Oxford St, London. Whilst the event is free to attend, spaces are limited. If you would like to find out more about the event you can get in touch with PEGS at admin@pegsupport.com or you can register your interest to attend by completing this form below.