This fact sheet accompanied the July-August 1997 Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Fact Sheet: Domestic Violence and Young Children

The Numbers

• Between 3.3 and 10 million children are at risk of witnessing domestic violence each year in the U.S.
• As many as 90 percent of children from violent homes witness the parental abuse.
• In families where domestic violence is present, child abuse and neglect is 15 times more likely than in other families. Children are abused in 1/3 to 1/2 of families where woman abuse occurs.
• The risk of sexual abuse is 6.51 times greater for girls whose fathers batter their mothers than for other girls.
• 75 percent of boys who witness domestic violence have been found to have demonstrable behavioral problems.

The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children

Children who witness domestic violence display various emotional, physical, and behavioral disturbances. Their problems are similar to those of physically abused children.

• Witnessing parental abuse produces feelings of anger, fear, guilt, shame, confusion, and helplessness. When the community fails to offer protection and support, children also feel undervalued and worthless.
• Children may express these emotions as withdrawal, low self-esteem, nightmares, regressive behavior, or aggression against peers, family members, and property.
• Child witnesses of domestic violence often suffer physical problems, such as bed wetting, insomnia, colds, and diarrhea.
• Children often suffer developmental delays in verbal, cognitive, and motor abilities when they live in homes with domestic violence. Learning disabilities are common.

Domestic violence disrupts children's lives.

• School performance may suffer if the child is distracted or tries to remain at home to protect the mother.
• Children's living arrangements are often disrupted when a parent is fleeing the abuser. Moving to unfamiliar surroundings can add to the stress.
• Children and their mothers may suffer financially when they flee the abusive parent.
• Child witnesses are at risk of getting hurt when they are trying to stop the violence or are accidentally caught in the midst of it.

Abuse by or of a caretaker affects children's core beliefs about themselves, those in authority, relationships with others, and assumptions about the world.

• Children older than five or six tend to identify with the aggressor and lose respect for the victim. They learn to equate anger with violence and believe that violence is justified.
• There is evidence that child witnesses of domestic violence carry violent and violent-tolerant roles into their own intimate relationships. Domination is viewed as the appropriate role for men and subordination the role for women.

Prevention and Intervention

• Provide a highly structured and predictable environment for children. Routines help children know what to expect.
• Give children permission to tell their stories. It helps children to be able to talk about their feelings with adults they trust.
• Teach alternatives to violence. Help children learn conflict resolution skills and non-violent ways of playing.
• Give parents help and support. Serve as a resource to parents about domestic violence services for mother, father and children.
• Model nurturing in interactions with children. Model respectful and non-violent resolution of conflicts.
• Involve the entire community to make it clear that violent behavior is not acceptable.
• Support public policies that promote the safety of battered women and their children.

Support for Caregivers

Caring for children who witness domestic violence affects caregivers.

• Caring for traumatized children is stressful and exhausting for caregivers.
• Caregivers may suffer from burnout and "compassion fatigue," an emotional strain that comes from working with traumatized individuals.
• Caregivers may take on the symptoms of the children with whom they work, such as despair, isolation, anger, sadness, and horror. Difficulty sleeping, eating, or concentrating may occur.

Attention to their own needs can help them act in the best interest of the children in their care.

• Fellow caregivers can be a great source of support. Confidential sharing with peers who understand the emotional strain and burnout can be revitalizing.
• Clinical supervision can provide a place to share concerns, review cases and strategize with a knowledgeable clinician who can offer both emotional support and concrete feedback about casework. Time spent with a skilled supervisor ensures a higher quality of services to families and also contributes to job satisfaction.
• Balancing physical and emotional health needs can help caregivers work more effectively with traumatized children. Getting plenty of rest, eating well, exercising, and engaging in self-nurturing activities such as quilting, reading, gardening, or hiking is beneficial.

Sources: Synergy, The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; Child Protective Services Quarterly, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence; "Domestic Violence and Children: Resolving Custody and Visitation Disputes" (manual), Family Violence Prevention Fund; "Courts and Communities: Confronting Violence in the Family," State Justice Institute Conference; The Effects of Woman Abuse on Children: Psychological and Legal Authority (2nd Edition), National Center on Women and Family Law, Inc.; "Wife Abuse--The Impact on Children," The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (Canada); "The Effects of Family Violence on Children" (fact sheet), Family Violence Prevention Fund; Fact Sheet #20, National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse; "Intervention With Children Who Have Witnessed Abuse," House of Ruth; "Silent Victims: Children who witness violence,"Contemporary Pediatrics; "Wounded Bystanders: Children Who Witness Violence," Child Witness to Violence Project; "Linking Mothers and Children: Understanding the Links Between Woman Battering and Child Abuse," from Strategic Planning Workshop on Violence Against Women.

Action Alliance for Children
e-mail aac@4children.org
1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 444-7136