NSPCC referrals to police have more than doubled since since start of pandemic
The society is being contacted at a far quicker rate about concerns of parents and carers misusing drugs or alcohol.
The NSPCC is making police and local authorities aware of parents misusing drugs and alcohol more than twice as much as they were during this time last year.
In 2020 there was an average of 26 referrals per month from the NSPCC across the first three months of the year, whereas from April onwards that's soared to a mean of 63.
The total over the 10 months from April until January 2021 is a frightening 626 and the society is being contacted by members of the public across the UK at a rate 66 per cent higher than last spring.
The society is now urging the Scottish Government to ensure services for people affected by alcohol and drug addiction take a "whole family approach", with concerns about the abuse of substances in homes containing children increasing rapidly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The NSPCC states: "Living in a household where a parent or carer misuses substances does not necessarily mean a child will experience abuse, but it can make it more difficult for parents to provide safe and consistent care and this can lead to abuse or neglect. It can also have a serious impact on children’s emotional well-being."
Their service centre in Glasgow runs a programme called Parents under Pressure, which supports parents and carers with substance misuse or mental health difficulties. The programme provides advice to parents on how to develop good relationships with their children and deal with challenging behaviour, as well as their own emotions.
Laura* was referred to the programme in Glasgow by her health visitor almost two years ago. Now in her 30s, she began drinking regularly as a teenager in a bid to help her cope with bullying at school and domestic and substance abuse at home.
When she was 18 years old, she was sexually assaulted by a stranger in the street. She then went on to have a series of abusive relationships and had three children while suffering with post-natal depression and was drinking heavily. Her three children were removed from her care, when the youngest was just a baby. It was following the birth of her fourth child that she finally received the help and support she needed to recover from her addiction to alcohol. She has now been sober for over 18 months.
Speaking about her experience, Laura* said: “When drink has got hold of you, you don’t feel like anything is worth it. Addiction makes you remain in the same place, while everything else moves on, and you end up isolated and alone. At the time, I thought the addiction just affected me but it doesn’t, it affects everyone around you, especially your children because they rely on you for everything.
“I think the Parents under Pressure programme is so good, as it makes you realise that at the centre of many addictions there is a child, who is suffering. My recovery has not been easy; I have had to delve into boxes, which have been locked in my head for many years. I don’t bottle things up anymore and I feel free; like I can breathe again. If I hadn’t had this help, I wouldn’t be here today. I would be dead or in jail and I would have left my children without a mother.”
Carla Malseed, local campaigns manager for NSPCC Scotland, added: "We know this has been a really difficult year for parents and carers and people are maybe feeling more isolated, having financial worries and trying to juggle responsibilities with work and home schooling.
"But these figures tell us more and more people are feeling the need to speak out about concerns for parents who are reaching to drugs and alcohol to cope, and this can have a detrimental impact on an adult and child's wellbeing.
"It's so important that anyone who is worried about their own, or someone else's, drug or alcohol abuse, seeks help. You can do that by contacting 0808 500 500 or visiting <a class="article-body-link" href="http://www.adfam.org.uk."">www.adfam.org.uk."