Research looks into abuse of grandparent kinship carers

Harriet Ernstsons-Evans • August 11, 2021

There are many different people stepping into the role of parent or guardian, and a proportion of these are grandparents who are looking after a grandchild within a kinship role (where a family member or friend is providing care). That’s the focus of a brilliant piece of research by Dr Amanda Holt and Dr Jenny Birchall, from the University of Roehampton, who interviewed kinship-carer grandparents who were sadly experiencing abuse or violence from their grandchildren.

• More than half of all kinship carers in the UK are grandparents

• The researchers spoke to 24 grandmothers and 3 grandfathers – aged between 40 and 73

• The children they were looking after were aged between 5 and 20

• They also spoke to professionals in family support services, social care, the police, education etc

The grandparents were experiencing a range of behaviour including physical, verbal and financial abuse – including being punched, kicked, bitten, headbutted, having items thrown at them, and treasured possessions destroyed.

Triggers for specific episodes could include going to new places, having contact with their parents, having access to technology restricted and the demands of the school day. But:

“The grandparents unanimously agreed that the violent and abusive behaviour they were facing ultimately stemmed from trauma and loss.”

This refers to the experiences the children had been through which had seen them end up in kinship care with their grandparents. Those interviewed felt sometimes the behaviour was the only way the children could communicate how they felt, and they targeted the person they felt the safest with – the grandparent who was offering unconditional love.

This abuse was understandably having a huge impact on the grandparents, affecting their:

• Relationship with the grandchild’s parent and other family members

• Marriage

• Finances

• Physical and mental health

There were varying experiences with professionals – contact with police was generally regarded as positive, contact with schools/colleges mixed, and there were challenges reported with getting support from children’s social care.

There are a number of recommendations made by Dr Holt and Dr Birchall, which we hope to see implemented by the services involved in supporting kinship carers. These include trauma-informed therapeutic work, tailored support for grandparents, thorough risk of harm assessments before kinship care is agreed, and continued support once the agreement is in place.

Speaking to PEGS, Dr Amanda Holt said: "This research highlights the specific challenges faced by grandparent kinship carers as they not only navigate the challenges of caring full-time for their grandchild - which includes challenges of managing contact with their grandchild's parent or parents - but also navigating the challenge of aggressive and/or abusive behaviour from their grandchild.

“Grandparent kinship carers are very much unsung heroes, and it is a travesty that this form of violence often goes unacknowledged, with insufficient support available for grandparent kinship carers in this position."

You can read the full research here.

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