ABSTRACT
Experiences of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in their families and exposure to domestic abuse between their parents and carers have been associated with abuse in young people's relationships. Parental responses that blame victims of peer-on-peer sexual abuse are not uncommon and often serve to deflect responsibility and enable denial within families affected. The difficulties that emerge in families interact with factors in communities and wider society. By exploring the evidenced relationship between family dynamics and incidents of peer-on-peer abuse, this chapter investigates both the extent to which 'family matters' to the phenomenon in question and the extent to which the 'I blame the parents' narrative is over-simplistic. In keeping with the ethos of the Troubled Families programme, parenting programmes are designed to change the dynamics of families rather than change external factors that may be impacting the nature of family environments.
