Child to Parent Violence and Abuse
Partially due to stigma, shame, and guilt; and largely due to parents feeling unsupported Child to Parent Violence and Abuse (CPVA) is underreported. There is no legal definition of CPVA, however Parent Real Talk uses the following to define child to parent violence and abuse:
Child to Parent Violence and Abuse (CPVA) can be defined as any behavior by a child used to coerce, obtain authority over, or control a parent, kinship, or guardian irrespective of the function of behavior. CPVA behaviors can be physical, sexual, emotional, financial, or psychological actions or threats of action including the use of technology over any platform that causes a parent, kinship, or guardian to feel intimidated, manipulated, humiliated, isolated, frightened, terrorized, coerced, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wounded. Ross-Brown, Tabatha, 2023
Types of Child to Parent Violence and Abuse
Physical Abuse
Being physically aggressive with members of the household, bullying siblings, hitting, punching, kicking, pulling hair, putting family member's health and safety at risk, harming household pets
Financial Abuse
Property damage, stealing money, demanding money, e-commerce without permission, creating debt in a household member's name
Emotional and
Psychological Abuse
Manipulating to gain control within the home, intimidation, swearing, humiliation, threats of harming themselves or others, threats of contacting authorities (school officials, police, child protective services) in order to gain control over a situation, gaslighting.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual coercion pressuring or manipulating into performing a sexual act, verbal harassment of a sexual nature, sexual assault