Since the year 1989 I have been an active professional working in the field of Juvenile Justice at the Department of Justice of the Generalitat de Cataluña (the autonomous government of Catalonia). I initially worked on institutional contexts. Since 2001 I’ve been part of the technical team that advises the public prosecution office for minors, drawing up the relevant reports at the pre-sentence stage of proceedings in cases involving minors. In 2005 I co-authored a research study on youth violence in the family, Centre for Legal Studies and Specialised Training, Department of Justice, Generalitat de Cataluña.

YOUTH VIOLENCE IN THE FAMILY

1.- Introduction (Definition. Youth violence in the family)

In January 2001, coinciding with the entry into force of Organic Law 5/2000 of January 12th on the Criminal Liability of Minors, hereafter: LORPM, public prosecution services dealing with minors began to initiate proceedings in cases of violence within the family, in which the fathers were generally the victims and the sons the aggressors. During this initial period, the number of disciplinary cases was low, but the number was increasing year on year. By 2004, in some of Spain's autonomous communities, the figure had increased several times over in comparison to 2001, with eight times as many cases in Catalonia, three times as many in the Basque Country and 14 times as many in the Valencian Community, according to the reports made by public prosecution services in these regions in 2005.

This new kind of violence has begun to be recognised by the communications media over the past three or four years, no longer being hidden in the bosom of the family and revealing itself as a reality that had been practically unknown until that time.

The use of violence in family relations in Spain was accepted in some cases until fairly recently, with physical punishment recognised and justified for the correction of children's behaviour. This use of violence towards children was also the first to be questioned and considered inadequate for educational purposes. At present, in the legislation of a number of countries, including Spain, it is forbidden to use physical violence against children, with parents who do so possibly being subjected to a criminal penalty. A second form of violence, with different dimensions and characteristics, which is also being highlighted in Spanish society, is gender violence, which is increasingly being rejected and punished criminally. The third form of violence to have a public dimension, and sufficient importance to receive specific consideration, is the violence of children towards their parents.

We might consider that the changes taking place imply a rejection of violence in family relations, this being a reflection of the moral development of Spanish society. We can only tackle and respond to problems if we are aware of them: mistreatment can only go “unpunished” if the “secret” is kept in the family.

In the early years of this period, one of the greatest difficulties we came up against in the professions was without doubt the absence in Spain of publications, research and specific programmes for investigating minors and their families, and also for intervention. We now have some materials available for our work, and some specific research has been published on this subject:

Romero, F., Melero, A., Cánovas, C., Antolín, M. La violencia de los jóvenes en la familia: una aproximación a los menores denunciados por sus padres (2005). CEJFE Department of Justice. Generalitat de Cataluña.

Ibabe, I., Jaureguizar, J., Diaz, O., Violencia filio-parental, conductas violentas de jóvenes hacia sus padres (2007). Basque Government Central Publications Service.

Over the past four years, conferences have been held in some autonomous communities on psychology and criminology, with others taking place exclusively on the subject of violence in young people within the family. At these events, there were presentations on the work and the experiments carried out, both with minors in internment and with those subjected to measures in their own surroundings, probation or otherwise, as a result of domestic-violence offences.

Definition:
I submit two definitions of violence providing elements for analysis, the first more general from the World Health Organization: 'all actions or deliberate omissions which, directed at a person, result in or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm', which will be necessary to situate in a family context.
A more specific definition of this kind of violence is proposed as “a set of repeated aggressive behaviours, whether physical (striking, pushing, throwing objects), verbal (repeated insults, threats) or non-verbal (threatening gestures, the breaking of valued objects) directed at the parents or adults who occupy their space” (Pereira, 2006).

2. Is it possible to carry out an analysis of current data in Spain on youth violence in the family?

2.1. Analysis of the current situation:

Educational and socio-cultural aspects
The changes that have occurred in Western society over recent decades have given rise to some substantial modifications, including in family dynamics, which have seen a transformation in ancient relationship and organization patterns. In Spain, this process began some years later with the return to the democratic system in the 1970s; however these changes have been incorporated in an accelerated manner.

The models, once clearly defined within the family and at school, in which nobody argued with the person in power, were based on a markedly authoritarian model, which in a few years went from being to questioned to being replaced by another, almost certainly based on a misunderstood 'democratic' decision-making culture, in which adults and young people were practically placed in a situation of equality, leaving those with a responsibility to educate, parents and teachers, with a lesser capacity for exercising their authority.
In young people, these educational practices have resulted in low levels of effort and perseverance in overcoming obstacles, although they do have a high degree of incentive and reward which, together with rules that are flexible and scarcely encourage responsibility, leads to young people who are impatient and have a poor tolerance of frustration.

New family models in Spain
The social changes have also meant alterations in the make-up of families: the number of members in each family has decreased, so that the number of children per marriage in Spanish families is usually one child, and as such it is probable that this child receives much care and attention.
The incorporation of women into the labour market and the corresponding distribution of household tasks in order to reconcile working life with caring for children have meant that it is not possible to spend much time with them. The difficulty that many parents have in achieving this wish leads to some of them to compensate for the lack of time spent with their children by giving them everything they ask for, generally material possessions.
One large group is made up of single-parent families, the result of the growing number of separations and divorces over recent years, as well as same-sex-parent families.
Let’s look at some of the data (2007) from Spain’s National Statistics Institute, referring to some aspects of the composition of families in Spain: single-parent families, as a result of separation or divorce, in which the mother and child/children live together, represent 26.6% of families. Homes made up of father, mother and one child represent 21%. One outstanding aspect is the belated age at which children become independent. Almost 7 million young people between the ages of 24 and 34 still live with their parents.

Profile of the minor's disruptive behaviour
Some of the variables observed in day-to-day practice, and in published research, show us some of the relevant indicators with respect to the violent conduct of young people within the family:

- Minors who have grown up in a family environment in which the educational styles of the parents are incoherent and where there is no agreement between the adults on the application of rules. On some occasions the rules are seen as very strict, at other times very permissive. In some cases negligence and lack of attention were observed in important aspects of the minor's development. Overprotective families.
- Cases in which a high level of dissatisfaction is shown in respect of the child, even from the first stages of life.
- Families in which the children later behave violently towards the parents have been witnesses and/or the victims of previous violence.
- They consume drugs, though no more than young people of the same age.
- Some cases fail at school, though in contrast others show adequate performance.
- Changes in home life, marital conflicts and parental separations.
- There is involvement in domestic problems by the local social services prior to the intervention of the legal system.
- In some cases, the young person is also involved in other criminal actions, aside from those of family violence.
- Impulsiveness. Low tolerance of frustration.
- In most cases they are not in work or training.
- They may show, or have shown, violent conduct in other environments; socially or at school.
- The appearance of violence as a primitive attempt, on the part of the child, to distance himself/herself from very close ('fusional') relationships. (Pereira, R. 2009)

2. 2. Juvenile delinquency:

National data on juvenile delinquency relating to the violence of minors towards their parents/family
As is previously explained in the introduction, since this conflict in family relations was made 'public', the increase in reported cases has been constant. The data from the State Prosecution Office (Fiscalía General del Estado) for the year 2009 reflect this reality; in 2008, proceedings were opened in 4,211 cases, compared to 2,683 in 2007, representing an increase of 56.9%.

Legal process in accordance with the system of autonomous communities in Spain. Does this regional system mean that there is a limit on the compilation of data?
The legal process in Spain is determined by the Organic Law on the Criminal Liability of Minors 5/2000. This is a criminal law which is applied in the same way throughout the Spanish State.
It states the process which is to be followed in the application of the law concerning minors, considering the international recommendations on justice for minors endorsed by Spain and incorporated into law.
It establishes the age band for which the law can be applied as 14 to 17 years inclusive.

The measures envisaged by the law are as follows:

- Closed institutions
- Semi-open institutions
- Open institutions
- Therapeutic institutions
- Weekend stays
- Outpatient treatment
- Day-centre attendance
- Probation
- Community service
- Completion of socio-educational tasks
- Confiscation of moped licence
- Residence with other person, family or educational group
- Warnings

This wide range of measures allows for the possibility of applying the one most appropriate to the situation of the minor, always considering the principle of proportionality, as with any law.

In addition to these measures, in the application of the law great importance is accorded to the resolution of conflict through mediation. Article 19 of the LORPM provides for the 'Dismissal of proceedings as a result of conciliation or reparation between the minor and the victim'.

- Tendencies and types of offence
- Evolution of the problem
(I understand that these two questions have been answered, there is one type of crime: domestic violence)

There is no impact arising from the regional system of collecting data on cases; the respective public prosecution services of each community collect their own data, and the State Prosecution Service provides the overall data.

2.3. Indicators to be taken into consideration:

The best interests of the minor
The law provides ample margin for examining the situation of the minor and his/her family. An interdisciplinary team is assigned to carry out this task, from the time at which the minor is accused of an offence, regardless of its seriousness. Once the investigation is carried out, it is compulsory to write a report on the situation of the minor.

Under the LORPM the technical team, made up of teachers, psychologists and social workers, is involved from the beginning of proceedings. It is compulsory that a report be written, as early as the pre-sentence stage, 'on the psychological, educational and domestic situation of the minor, as well as his/her social environment, and in general on any other circumstance relevant to the purposes of adopting any of the measures provided for in the present law' (Article 27).

This report must take in and assess the most relevant factors which might be indicators of possible criminal conduct in the areas described in Article 27, with the objective of combining the measure imposed by the judge with the situation of the minor, and also to prepare the appropriate educational programme in responding to the problems exhibited by the minor, and to prevent the risk of re-offending.

This investigation includes the parents of the minor, and if the latter does not live with them, then those who carry out this role, in view of the fact that family dynamics and relationships are observed and evaluated, both in the assessment and the corresponding report.

Reconstruction of the family
(This question is answered in the previous section)

3. Analysis of national policies. General treatment models

Rules of procedure
Authority for the carrying out of all the measures provided for by the LORPM is exercised by the autonomous communities, meaning that they must provide the necessary resources, whether institutional or in the minor's own environment, as well as specific action programmes and professionals specialising in intervention with young offenders.

The possibility of working from a professional perspective in public and private institutions on a therapeutic level with minors who are violent towards their parents.
- The Spanish State is made up of 17 autonomous regions and two autonomous provinces. Considering that these have the capacity for the application of measures established by the law, they can apply them either through their own or private entities. The current situation is that practically all cases have a high involvement of private bodies working in the domain of young offenders.

Consideration of systemic domestic therapeutic interventions
- The legal ruling for the purposes of the measure imposed is only binding upon the minor as to the completion of the measure. If we interpret this strictly, the limitations are evident since the people closest to the minor, the parents, are not obliged to participate in the process of changing their child's behaviour.
- From professional practice and through the implementation of measures, and referring to the type of offence that concerns us, considerable use of the systemic model was noted in the different presentations at conferences for professionals in different regions. Other communities are also using cognitive behavioural programmes, but in all of these, the family is included in the intervention.
- Is the family the victim of the minor's behaviour or the cause of the disruptive behaviour?
- It is up to the legal system to determine who the aggressor is and who the victim is.
- As professionals we are responsible for the analysis of the situation, understanding the causes that give rise to and sustain this violent conduct, and how different parts of the system interact, thus being able to take action and contribute towards change.

4. Good practice

Consideration of interdisciplinary intervention.
The typical composition of the technical teams as envisaged by the LORPM: a psychologist, a teacher and a social worker, as in the educational programmes applied for this type of offence, described previously, provides for interdisciplinary intervention as the habitual practice.

Are there differences in terms of the age and gender of the minors on the intervention level?
It is understandable that there are differences according to age; the development process of a 14-year-old minor is different to that of a 17-year-old, in addition to the other existing factors which have led to behaviour deserving of a criminal penalty. The law itself establishes two age groups in determining the duration of measures: 14-15 and 16-17 years, whereby for the same offence, different time considerations will be applied according to age band when completing the measure.
In terms of gender, we are seeing a high rate of girls being convicted for this type of offence, with data ranging between 25 and 35%, whereas for common crime the percentage is between 10 and 15%.
The response is tailored to the individual and as such the special features of the subject must be considered when preparing the minor's individual educational programme. The areas for intervention, whether personal, family or social, and the objectives for change, must be put on record. This programme must be approved by the judge who passed the sentence.

Consequences of the temporary separation of the minor from his family and subsequent return to the family.
According to the provisions of the LORPM and the international recommendations on justice for minors, internment must always be considered as the final option.
Some autonomous communities have allocated specific resources for the internment of minors convicted of domestic violence, according to one of the systems envisaged by the law: at closed, semi-open or open institutions. This form of intervention provides the minor with a temporary separation from his/her environment, and also enables a joint effort to be made by the minor and his family. Professionals give a positive evaluation of the results obtained.