Parental Alienation

According to therapist Shannon Thomas, author of “Healing from Hidden Abuse,” psychological abuse is insidious, and it occurs a over time like an IV drip of poison entering your veins.

It starts with an off-hand comment here, or an insult there, but often victims brush these moments off. This is because abusive people are great at pretending to be everything you’re looking for in a partner, and they love bomb you with affection. Victims tend to believe this is the abuser’s real self, and when the mask starts to slip more and more, they believe its “out of character” and it must be their own fault for making their partner angry. Continue reading “People often stay in abusive relationships because of something called ‘trauma bonding’” →

Continue reading “Manipulative people brainwash their partners using something called ‘perspecticide’” →

For the victim, their life is overwhelmed with wondering how to appease their controlling partner. Fontes said they may even experience physical signs of stress over time such as changes to eating and sleeping, head or back aches, and digestive problems, because they are too worried about their partner’s wrath Continue reading “The signs you’re a victim of perspecticide” →

If you find yourself losing touch with your social circle and seeing your family less and less because your partner does not approve of you spending time with them, then this is another clear sign of perspecticide. The goal is to make you feel less independent and strong, which is exactly what limiting your time spent with people outside of your abuser does. You are easy to control if you do not have any outside influence. Continue reading “You’re Isolated From Your Family And Friends” →

An abusive partner’s mission is to control you and make you think the way they do. Your opinions and views on topics are irrelevant to them and you lose your voice over time. You may feel obligated to make them happy by doing what they wish, but this is never enough. The abusive partner will continue to isolate you from your family and friends and put you through physical/emotional/sexual abuse. It never stops. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel.

There are some major signs that indicate a relationship that is a victim of perspecticide Continue reading “Signs That You May Be A Victim Of Perspecticide” →

If a partner controls everything within the relationship and tells the victim what to think and believe – so much so that they’re unsure what is and isn’t true any more – this might be a case of perspecticide.

Lisa Aronson Fontes, a psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Business Insider: “In an abusive or controlling relationship, over time the dominating partner changes how the victim thinks.

“The abuser defines what love is. The abuser defines what is appropriate in terms of monitoring the partner. The abuser defines what is wrong with the victim, and what she needs to do to change it.” Continue reading “Perspecticide: What you need to know about this type of emotional abuse in a relationship” →

Prosecutors and Safeguarding

Safeguarding is defined by Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 as:

• Protecting children from maltreatment
• Preventing impairment of children’s health or development
• Ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
• Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes

Although the main responsibility for children’s welfare and safety will usually lie with agencies such as policing, social, health and education services, there is, nevertheless, a role for prosecutors in terms of safeguarding children.

Prosecutors may have contact with children as victims or witnesses and also as defendants. This can be indirect, such as making charging decisions and file reviews, and direct, such as prosecuting cases in court.

Prosecutors’ decisions and actions may have a direct impact on the safety of a child in individual cases. Examples include:

• Considering whether bail (with or without conditions) is appropriate;
• Deciding on the charge or the public interest in prosecuting a case;
• Successfully prosecuting offenders who pose a danger to children, so that the courts can impose sentences that protect children.

One of the key points to recognise is that the prosecution process itself, particularly the trial, can be daunting and stressful for children. There are risks of re-traumatising the child or causing the child unnecessary worry and distress. Continue reading “Safeguarding Children as Victims and Witnesses” →

Counselling and therapy

The CPS guidance on the Provision of Therapy for Child Witnesses Prior to a Criminal Trial confirms that the best interests of the victim or witness are the paramount consideration in decisions about therapy. There is no bar to a victim seeking pre-trial therapy or counselling and neither the police nor the CPS should prevent therapy from taking place prior to a trial. Prosecutors should be familiar with the content of the CPS guidance on pre-trial therapy so that they can advise police and witnesses on the correct approach. Continue reading “Counselling and therapy” →

The offence is triable either-way with a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment on indictment; the maximum penalty on summary conviction is six months, or an unlimited fine or both.

• Evidence of emotional and behavioural consequences of child abuse is frequently presented in the following way:- impaired capacity to enjoy life – abused children often appear sad, preoccupied and listless;
• psychiatric or psychosomatic stress symptoms, for example, bed-wetting, tantrums, bizarre behaviour, eating problems etc;
• low self-esteem – children who have been abused often think they must be worthless to deserve such treatment;
• school learning problems, such as lack of concentration;
• withdrawal – many abused children withdraw from relationships with other children and become isolated and depressed;
• opposition/defiance – a generally negative, uncooperative attitude;
• hyper-vigilance – typified in the “frozen watchfulness” expression;
  compulsivity – abused children sometimes compulsively carry out certain activities or rituals; and
• pseudo-mature behaviour – a false appearance of independence or being excessively “good” all the time or offering indiscriminate affection to any adult who takes an interest.

The Sentencing Council issued a definitive guideline on sentencing child cruelty which came into force on 1 January 2019. The guideline applies to all offenders aged 18 and older, who are sentenced on or after 1 January 2019, regardless of the date of the offence.

Included within the guideline is the sentencing guidance for cruelty to a child (assault and ill treatment, abandonment, neglect, and failure to protect), which attracts an offence range of: Community order – 8 years’ custody, with a maximum of 10 years’ custody.

This definitive guideline is available at the Sentencing Council website here. Continue reading “Sentencing” →

Non-sexual child abuse covers a range of offending behaviour and types of offenders. Prosecutors should have regard to the context and circumstances in which the offending is alleged to have taken place, as this will identify the reasonable lines of inquiry, and determine how the evidential case should be built.

Children or young people who have been in the care of social services, or who have come to the attention of social services, will inevitably have a great deal of information about them contained within social services records compared to other children or young people. Every episode of misbehaviour, even of the most minor nature, is likely to be a matter of record. Most children misbehave, but not every child has their misbehaviour recorded. Victims who are, or have been, in the care of the social services should not be disadvantaged in the criminal process by this fact. Prosecutors should be prepared to address this issue as part of the presentation of the prosecution case.

Prosecutors should also have regard to whether there is any credible third party evidence to suggest that the complainant has malicious intent to make a false allegation. However, prosecutors should guard against looking for ‘corroboration’ of the victim’s account or using the lack of ‘corroboration’ as a reason not to proceed with a case.

Prosecutors must check with the police and the CPS Case Management System (CMS) to see whether there are any pending allegations involving the same victim or suspect(s).The check is to be endorsed on the file record to form part of the formal review. If there are pending allegations then the details should be obtained to see if there are any links or similarities to the on-going case. Continue reading “Context and circumstances of child abuse (non-sexual)” →