WELCOME
This campaign is about securing and enabling the rights of grandchildren to maintain and sustain safe, established relationships with their grandparents, thus protecting children from adverse childhood experiences such as traumatic loss.
In the UK, a grandchild does not currently have this right.
Why is legal, policy & practice change required?
Because grandchildren and their grandparents are experiencing a challenging loss and grief from the forced ending of their relationship. Based on our 2022 survey, this situation is currently experienced by an estimated 2 million each of grandparents and grandchildren i.e.
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an eighth of the 45+ population and
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a sixth of the under-16 populations respectively.
The sudden, unexpected and profound loss of a close (and safe) family member negatively impacts both grandchild and grandparent in the short, medium and long term in terms of both physical and mental health.
Building the
picture
Grandparents United For Children (GUfC) was born out of the experiences of many grandparents whose relationships with their grandchildren has been unexpectedly and often abruptly removed.
It is important to state that the removal of these relationships was not because of safeguarding concerns. GUfC recognise and support the need for all children to be protected, and where there are safeguarding concerns, the protection of the child is paramount.
This relationship removal is about the rights of children and their right to healthy, safe relationships with their immediate and extended family members, all of whom inform and shape their identity, providing warmth, positive life experiences, often regular care, and additional security.
A child can be impacted in different ways when a safe and loving family relationship is abruptly removed, including feeling forgotten and abandoned. This experience for a child is often one they are not able to voice, due to the stance of parents, and feeling conflicted between their own grief and loyalty to their parents. The effect of such adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can be traumatic, impacting on future life experiences and subsequent generations
Many grandparents have spent years in turmoil, and as we listen to them in support groups, they share how they have been torn from relationships with their grandchildren. A grandparent shared that, “I never saw her from the age of two. 20 years lost, and these years will never come back”. In such cases a child misses an attachment rooted in love and a bond that should be their entitlement.
There's no bond like the one between grandparents and their grandchildren. When that bond is unexpectedly and often abruptly removed, it can be devastating for everyone involved. Grandparents United for Children is here to raise awareness and support for those who have experienced this loss.
Grandparents United for Children, 2023.