TPC-Journal-V5-Issue3

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 3 400 stated, “I think it is possible that the kiddo that is doing most of the abuse has mental health problems like severe anxiety, depression or oppositional defiant disorder.” Margaret shared that children and adolescents might learn that violence is acceptable and carry this belief into relationships with their siblings. “There are underlying issues whether it be in the family or in the individual, whether it is depression or mental illness.” Gender and ethnicity. Participants discussed in particular about how female students have learned that violence is acceptable. Ty noted that she worked with a diverse population of students from many different countries. She stated, “In many, many countries you can do what you want with women.” She posited that students learn about gender roles at home, saying, “Dad’s treating Mom that way; why shouldn’t I? I’ve been told not to put up [with] anything from a female.” Participants also observed that within certain ethnic groups, the acceptance of family violence varies. For example, Margaret worked at a school with many Asian students and noted that when it comes to discipline, “It has been interesting to learn cultural exceptions that it’s okay to hit their kids.” Ty mentioned, “Females in certain cultures . . . Hispanic [students] especially . . . I think they put up with a lot of crap and they don’t realize their worth. So I think they think they are open to being abused.” Systemic barriers. The seventh theme that emerged from the participant data was systemic barriers . This theme was defined as participants’ shared attitudes and beliefs about the systems that school counselors encounter as barriers to advocating for students experiencing sibling abuse. Although participants understood that it is their role to work with a variety of systems, such as CPS, law enforcement and families, they shared frustrations that there is “no follow-up” or that sibling abuse is “swept under the rug.” Participants reflected on the power dynamics that exist and the helplessness that they (as school counselors), the victim and even parents may experience due to systemic barriers. Many questioned who is responsible to respond and whether reports about sibling abuse would be taken seriously. Participants shared that the barriers they encounter in trying to get help for students experiencing maltreatment often contribute to the cycle of abuse. Although only three participants in this study had direct experience reporting sibling abuse in particular, all eight participants endorsed this theme and shared their attitudes and beliefs on trying to report abuse in general. The following two subthemes emerged from the participants’ descriptions of the systemic barriers: CPS and family systems. Child protective services. Participants discussed the barriers in working with the CPS systems and other resources such as law enforcement. One of the barriers that participants repeatedly mentioned was little follow-up in helping students. Ty shared her frustration that representatives from social services would respond by saying, “We don’t have enough proof.” Margaret stated, “I have had one this week and one in the past where siblings have come to school with bruises from siblings. I did report it and the follow-up has not been really good from the social services agency.” Other participants shared that it was unclear whom they should be reporting sibling abuse to, and even social services and law enforcement seemed confused at times. Tiffany mentioned, “It gets passed off—‘Oh, well, it’s student to student; that’s a police thing’—sometimes the police don’t take it as seriously because it’s a family thing—‘Oh, well, contact the family’—and then it’s left in the family’s hands.” Family systems. Related to this lack of clarity when reporting sibling abuse, participants also shared the difficulty they have encountered as school counselors when working with families to intervene for students experiencing sibling abuse. Lee stated, “If they can’t handle it themselves, they don’t want to reach out and ask for help or tell anybody because then the façade would be