S4M-08651 The CEDAR Network

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith): The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-08651, in the name of James Dornan, on the CEDAR—children experiencing domestic abuse recovery—network. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. Since James Dornan cannot be with us for the debate, for very understandable reasons, I call on Sandra White to open the debate.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament commends the work of the Cedar Network and other third sector organisations in assisting women and young people who are affected by domestic abuse; notes that a branch of the Cedar Network has been established in Glasgow, which adds to the rest of its network across Scotland; considers its work, which it carries out through group work and support, to be hugely important in aiding recovery from domestic abuse; notes what it sees as the Cedar Network’s close working relationship with a number of third sector and statutory organisations, such as the Castlemilk Domestic Abuse Project; considers that the inclusion of trained facilitators from a wide range of statutory and voluntary agencies helps to foster a multiagency support network that is crucial to the success of the project; highlights research conducted by Nancy Lombard, who is a lecturer in social policy at Glasgow Caledonian University, on young people’s attitudes toward violence, which suggests that engaging them in discussions on the subject will help challenge gendered perceptions of this, and considers education on violence and support for women and children to be key in helping to break cycles of domestic abuse.

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Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP):

I join others in congratulating James on securing the debate and Sandra for stepping in to ensure that it got off to a good start.

The focus of tonight’s debate is the CEDAR network’s branch in Glasgow, but the motion refers to the fact that we are talking about a branch of a wider network. I have met some of the partners of the CEDAR network in Glasgow, such as Glasgow Women’s Aid and Children 1st, which works right across Scotland. It is important that the CEDAR network and others have the opportunity to create links with other organisations that can help.

I represent a part of the Moray region, in which the CEDAR network has been active for some time, and there are important parallels between what is happening in Glasgow and what is happening across the rest of Scotland, particularly in Moray. I will start with some general remarks.

We need to think about the sources of violence that affect children, and there are a few that we might focus on in particular. Mental ill-health in adults who are close to children can be a source of violence, as can addictions, particularly to drink and severe, mind-distorting drugs such as crack cocaine. Relationships can come under stress, particularly through what I might describe as gratuitous promiscuity on the part of one partner, which can lead to violence that involves the children. Some sociopathic conditions mean that some parents are not naturally fitted to the role in which they find themselves, and those parents need support as much as their children do.

I am one of the fortunate majority who has not been exposed to such things. That said, I remember at some indeterminate point listening from some distance to the only argument that I remember between my parents. I have no idea what it was about. There were no raised voices; it was quite quiet, but it was sufficiently impressive that I remember it to this day. When we are talking about parents and adults making much more severe interventions on children, I can see through that very tiny example in my own life that the effects on youngsters might last a lifetime.

The work of the CEDAR network is very important in tackling the effects of domestic abuse on children. In Moray, the CEDAR network has funding from the Big Lottery to work with Children 1st, and is a partner agency of the Moray domestic abuse partnership. It also does excellent work through a 12-week therapeutic group work programme for children and young people who have been exposed to domestic abuse. Mothers also have the opportunity to attend a group to support their children. Whatever we might think generally, the remedy often lies at the mother’s door. I hope that more men will step up to the mark in relation to their parental responsibilities, but the reality is that we deliver a lot if we support the mothers.

The group work model is adapted from work that came from Canada. I hope that, in her summing up, the minister will acknowledge that it is well worth pursuing. We think that perhaps as many as 100,000 children in Scotland live under the shadow of domestic abuse. That tells us how important tonight’s debate is and, more fundamentally, how significantly the Parliament should tak tent of the issue and the work of the CEDAR network in Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland. [Applause.]

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