|
A Fact Sheet about
The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children
prepared by the New Hampshire Coalition
Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence against their mothers or female caretakers by
family members. (American Psychological Association, Violence and the Family: Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996), p. 11).
In homes where domestic violence occurs, fear, instability, and confusion replace the love, comfort, and nurturing that children need. These children live in constant fear of physical harm from the person who is
supposed to care for and protect them. They may feel guilt at loving the abuser or blame themselves for causing the violence. (Domestic Violence, Understanding a Community Problem, National Woman
Abuse Prevention Fund). Studies find child witnesses to exhibit more aggressive and antisocial, as well as, fearful and inhibited behaviors, and to have lower social competence.
Christopherpoulos et al., (1987) Children of abused women, Journal of Marriage and the Family , 49, 611-619. Children who witness violence were also found to show more anxiety, aggression, depression and
temperamental problems, less empathy and self-esteem, and lower verbal, cognitive, and motor abilities than children who did not witness violence at home. There is also some support for the hypothesis that children from
violent families of origin carry violent and violence-tolerant roles to their adult intimate relationships. Susan Schecter and Jeffrey Edleson, "In the Best Interest of Women and Children: A Call
for Collaboration Between Child Welfare and Domestic Violence Constituencies". Protecting Children, The American Humane Association, 1996. Forty to sixty percent (40-60%) of men who abuse women
also abuse children. (American Psychological Association, Violence and the Family: Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996), p. 40). Children in homes
where domestic violence occurs are physically abused or seriously neglected at a rate 1,500% higher than the national average in the general population. (National Woman Abuse Prevention Project,
Washington, D.C.) Sixty-two percent (62%) of young men between the ages of 11 and 20 serving time for homicide, killed their mother's batterer.
(New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women, Spring Issue, May 1998). Boys who witness family violence are more likely to batter their female partners as adults than are boys raised in non-violent homes.
Georgia Department of Human Resources, Family Violence Teleconference Resource Manual, (Battered Families ... Shattered Lives January, 1992). Girls who
witness their mother's abuse have a higher rate of being battered as adults. Georgia Department of Human Resources, Family Violence Teleconference Resource Manual (Battered Families
... Shattered Liv , January 1992). In one study, 27% of domestic homicide victims were children. (Florida Governor's Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence,
Florida Mortality Review Protect, 199 7, p. 45, table 11). When children are killed during a domestic dispute, 90% are under age 10, 56% are under age 2. (Florida Governor's Task
Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Florida Mortality Review Project, 1997, p. 51, table 28). The 14 member groups of the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
assist survivors of sexual assault, and domestic violence, and- members of their families, with 24-hour crisis lines, emergency shelter, counseling, support groups and help dealing with police, medical and court personnel. The programs provide speakers and educational programs to community groups. In 1997,
Coalition groups
assisted 1,073 sexual assault survivors. They helped hundreds of women obtain restraining orders against their abusers. |
|
