This webinar focused on several key questions:

• How are children impacted by domestic violence?
• Why is it important to assess specific risks for children (and not only for adult victims)?
• Which factors should be considered when assessing risks for children?
• How can domestic violence perpetrator programmes improve their practice in assessing risks for children?

About the speakers

Maria Eriksson is professor of social work and deputy vice chancellor for research and PhD education at Marie Cederschiöld University, Sweden. One of her primary research interests is how different forms of inequality impact upon policy and practice as regards parenthood and children’s rights. Issues related to men’s violence against women and children are central in this research. Ongoing research includes the six-year research programme Coordinated Interventions against Violence in Close Relationships (SIVIN Child) focusing on the municipal personal social services in cases of intimate partner violence in families with children. 

Ole Hultmann is a licensed psychologist, licensed psychotherapist, and lecturer at the Department of Psychology at the University of Gothenburg, and is affiliated with the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic in Gothenburg. He is a member of the research team that has developed the “iRiSk’” risk and safety interviews for abused children on behalf of the National Board of Health and Welfare. His research focuses on two primary areas: psychotherapy for children and adolescents, and risk assessments in child welfare services.

Justine Dodds is Head of Respect Young People’s Service, which delivers training and support to practitioners working with young people who harm in the United Kingdom. She has been working in the field of CAPVA (child/adolescent-to-parent violence and abuse) since 2016, when she began delivering the Respect Young People’s Programme (RYPP) to young people and their families while managing a Youth Justice prevention team. Justine is the author of Dating Detox: A Toolkit for Young People Using Harm in Their Own Relationships and Building Skills: A Resource for Helping Young People to Regulate Strong Emotions. 

Jan Vrkoč is a social worker and frontline professional. a board member of the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Täterarbeit Häusliche Gewalt (BAG TäHG), the Federal Association for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence in Germany, which developed a standard for the work with perpetrators of domestic violence, endorsed by the German government. Jan´s professional background lies in the gender reflective work with boys. So his view on domestic violence as a gender-based phenomenon always includes the focus on gender-specific socialization in a patriarchal society. His aim is to promote gender equality and prevent violence against women and children.

Davide Parma is a psychotherapist and Vice-President of Relive, the Italian network for perpetrator programmes. He has been involved in perpetrator work for almost a decade.