Educational Opportunities and Obstacles for Teenagers Living in Domestic Violence Refuges

Abstract

The hidden nature of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is well established. Globally, its prevalence is difficult to ascertain, but international legal frameworks and existing studies recognise that DVA is experienced directly by children and young people in the home or within their own intimate partner relationships. In 2013, UK policy transformed teenagers into primary service users of DVA refuges. This study examines teenagers' educational experiences over the period of their refuge stay and whether refuges responded effectively to their educational needs. Twenty refuges in England assisted with the study. Individual interviews with 25 staff members explored their perceptions of teenagers' experiences. Repeat interviews with 20 teenagers were undertaken over the period of their refuge stay. The voices of teenagers are prioritised in this paper; four teenagers contributed to study design and three assisted with data analysis. A thematic approach was taken to analyse the data. Teenagers described various educational difficulties associated with adolescence and refuge life. Major themes included the disruption of education and a lack of resources to support educational achievement. Education can contribute to the resilience of teenagers who have experienced DVA. Refuges and schools should work collaboratively to build a co‐ordinated response. Key Practitioner Messages Refuge staff working with teenagers need to identify and prioritise their educational needs. Refuges and schools need to collaborate to improve access to educational support and resources for teenagers in refuges. Where schooling is interrupted, teenagers should be provided with appropriate alternative resources. The co‐ordinated educational support provided to looked‐after children should be considered as a model for teenagers in refuges.

Child Protection and Contexts of Recognition

“…Comparatively, the third article positions young people's voices as central to their account of teenager's (the term preferred by participants to denote their age) experiences of education while they are in domestic abuse refuges: four teenagers were involved in the design of the study, three played a role in the process of analysis, and Kelly Bracewell and colleagues (2020) from the University of Lancashire prioritise data from interviews with 20 young people (alongside interviews with 25 professionals across 20 refuges) in reporting their findings.…”

‘They Class Me as a Child because I’m 15. But They Don’t Want Me at the Kid’s Club’: Towards Rights Respecting Refuges for Teenagers

“…Education and Homework For most participants (n=12), moving to a refuge resulted in changes of schools with impacts on educational attainment, and friendships (Bracewell et al, 2020). Moving meant being placed on waiting lists for new schools and 11 teenagers spent on average 13.8 weeks out of an educational establishment; one participant waited nine months for a school place.…”

Building Better Schools with Evidence-based Policy

“…Often, children and young people identify teachers and other education professionals as people outside of their families who they would turn to when seeking support for DFV (Howarth et al, 2016). When school staff have the knowledge and skills to provide support to these students, children and young people are more likely to view school as a safe and neutral place where they can take a break from what is happening at home (Bracewell et al, 2020;Buckley et al, 2007).…”

“…All information concerning a student's status as a victim/survivor of family violence is retained in the strictest confidence and only shared with other school staff as necessary to protect the student's safety and dignity (Bracewell et al, 2020).…”

“…The FV Response Team collaborates with [INSERT name of school] student victim/survivors (and/or non-offending caregivers, when appropriate) to create an Individual Support Plan. Through this Plan, students can access provisions, such as (Bracewell et al, 2020;Lloyd, 2018): Adjustments to class schedules; Extensions on homework or assignment due dates; A safe and quiet space with access to a computer and internet that can be accessed as needed outside of school hours (e.g., before or after school) to complete homework. This is particularly helpful for students living in crisis or refuge accommodation who may not have access to computers or the internet; Additional learning support in the form of lunchtime or outside of school hours sessions.…”