How Are Children Affected By Domestic Abuse?
How Children are affected by Domestic Abuse
Children can be affected by domestic abuse either directly or in-directly.
As a result of the Domestic Abuse Bill which was passed in 2021, children are now classed as victims of domestic abuse in their own right. Regardless whether or not they have been affected physically.
For more information on implementation please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-overarching-factsheet
“Experiencing domestic abuse is child abuse” NSPCC
Below are some of the ways children can be affected
Children can see a domestic incident taking place.
This can be traumatising for children as they are watching their loved parent get hurt. The person who is supposed to protect them becomes helpless in this moment. Children can often feel confused when witnessing a domestic incident as they love both parents but don’t understand why someone they love can act in abusive ways.
Children can hear a domestic incident taking place
This can often be more frightening for the children than seeing the incident as they use their imagination to try to understand what is happening. Often parents will say that their child didn’t witness the incident as they were asleep in bed, however most of the time children are awoken by a domestic incident and are listening to what is happening.
Children can see parents’ injuries after a violent incident
The emotional impact this can have on children in huge. Often parents will try to hide their injuries or make up a reason as to why they got their injury, again this can cause confusion for the children.
Children can witness parents’ distress after an incident
Seeing a parent distressed can make children feel unsettled. Sometimes children will refuse to go to school so they can stay home and take care of their non-abusive parent, or they may want to ensure no further incidents happen so they stay home so they can monitor the situation. This can have a long lasting impact on their education and social skills as they are not spending time with their peers.
Children can get hurt in the crossfire of a domestic incident
It is common for babies to be injured as a result of domestic abuse as they are completely reliant on adults for all of their needs to be met. Babies and children’s needs can be neglected by the non-abusive parent if the abuser is demanding all their needs be met above the child. In these occasions the non-abusive parent may feel the only safe option is to put the needs of the abuser first to prevent further abuse or violence.
Babies often get hurt in the crossfire of a violent incident as the non-abusive parent may be carrying the baby when they are being physically assaulted resulting in the baby also being hurt. Some children will want to intervene in a violent incident in order to try to protect their non-abusive parent. There have been many incidents of children becoming a human shield to try to protect their parent resulting in them also getting hurt. If a child is injured as a result of domestic abuse this is a serious concern that would meet threshold for statutory intervention from the local authority.
Unborn babies can be affected by domestic abuse
Domestic abuse statistically escalates in pregnancy and a woman is more likely to be assaulted by her partner when she is pregnant. This can be for many reasons such as the woman putting the unborn baby’s needs before their abusers, the woman being more physically vulnerable in pregnancy, lifestyle changes due to pregnancy and the woman may not want to be as sexually active as she was before.
However, one of the main reasons a woman is more likely to be physically assaulted in pregnancy is because she will come into contact with lots of professionals during this time for example, midwives, doctors, health visitors, sonographers etc. A domestic abuser may become fearful that his partner will disclose to a professional the abuse she is victim to so they may escalate their abusive behaviour to scare her into not disclosing the abuse. A perpetrator might use coercive and controlling behaviour to stop his partner attending any anti-natal appointments which could have life threating implications to the woman and to the unborn baby.
Women who have been physically assaulted in pregnancy are more likely to miscarry, have a still born baby, or go into premature labour. In order to safeguard unborn children, it is imperative that victims’ of domestic abuse get the support they need.
Midwives, if its safe to do so, routinely ask mothers-to-be during their ante-natal vists if all is well at home and that they feel safe. This is to assess risk and to offer support to the mother.