Since retiring last year, I have continued to maintain a close interest in “Holes” and particularly the idea of themes being developed through a number of different posts. Both Adoption and Mothering have been covered recently, and we move on now to an exploration of “International perspectives on CAPVA.”
I have been looking through old notes and blog posts thinking about the way awareness of both the issue and – importantly – the work of people in other places has grown over the years. When I wrote my Masters dissertation in 2006 I had come across some limited research papers from Europe and Australia, the United States and Canada, as well as Japan, and news reports from elsewhere around the globe; but there was a sense of breaking new ground and of being met with scepticism and of isolation.
Writing in 2013, (https://holesinthewall.co.uk/2013/05/29/child-to-parent-violence-insights-fromspain/ ) I was aware that the research body was already much larger and that Spain in particular had a rich library of work and had hosted an international conference in 2011 following a real growth of interest around the world. Since then, personal contacts, conferences and Google Alerts have brought to my attention the interest and awareness across all continents. International research groups have formed. And of course not just research but the realisation that this is indeed a worldwide issue, not confined to a particular profile of parent or society. A realisation that causes both great excitement and great sadness.
Recent publications (all listed on the Reading List page if you would like to peruse them) come from Central and South America, different countries in Africa, western and eastern Europe, Asia, China, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Different ways of organising society, different models of family, different global circumstances, different levels of provision … new questions, new angles, new learning. Each new insight adds a new piece to the jigsaw puzzle as we strive – as a common community – to understand the issue and most importantly to bring hope and healing to families.
I look forward to reading the posts over the next weeks as this new theme develops and hope you will too. Please do join in the conversation – write something for us, let us know about other work,
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Helen Bonnick