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Speak Up! - View Question #609 |
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Question: Can you hit back an abusive parent?
Answer: One has the right to defend oneself (See A.R.S. § 13-404.) or an innocent third party (See A.R.S. § 13-406.) from an assault but does not have the right to strike someone to 'get even' or get revenge. (See definition of assault at 13-1203) Only reasonable force may be used to defend oneself or another. A parent, however, has a lot of disciplinary control over a child. Whether something constitutes abuse or assault, or whether it is allowable parental discipline, depends on the circumstances. If a parent is imposing lawful discipline, and the child hits the parent, the child may be prosecuted for an assault.
Responding with violence is generally not a good solution to the problem of abuse. That usually results in the level of violence increasing over time. There are alternative ways to get help, including making a referral to Child Protective Services or by calling the local police to file a complaint about the abuse. One can also inform another trusted adult, like a teacher, and ask for help. You can call 911 to contact the police in an emergency. You can reach Child Protective Services at (888) 767-2445, or (888) SOS-CHILD.
As a practical matter, when the police are confronted with 2 people who are fighting and who live in the same home, the police will arrest one of them to be sure the situation has a chance to calm down. Where there is an adult and his / her child, the police may remove the child rather than the adult, because the officer may believe the adult was exercising appropriate discipline over the child. Additionally, if the adult is arrested, the police would have to place the child into a temporary foster home while the adult is in custody. Therefore, the child frequently is the one who gets arrested, to avoid the need to place both the child and the parent in custody.
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