Domestic Violence And Children 's Psychological And Emotional Well Being Essay

In the most recent data available from 2015, it was disclosed that nearly 92,000 Canadians had report to the police an incident related to domestic violence; of this number, 80% of them were women (Burczycka, 2017). It is then no surprise that intimate partnership violence has been found to be one of the major causes of violence against women in Canada (Ministry of the Status of Women, 2015). Many agencies focus on supporting directly the female victims and providing them with secured shelters and safe spaces to rebuild themselves after leaving their abusive relationship (Shelter Safe, 2017). However, a need to address domestic violence from the roots arose in Ontario1982, when the community identified a gap in the offer of programs

Violence affects a healthy family’s relationship, state of mind and well-being, in other words, it’s normal functions. Because of violence, children are forced to endure and cope with mental, physical and emotional trauma leading to a display of impacts on health, development, and wellbeing. The effects build up over time and can impact on every aspect of their life.  How many children and innocent lives must suffer from something unnecessary? Imagine walking into a home late at night to find a child hiding in a corner, with a bloody face and cuts all around their body saying they were self-inflicted or making up other silly excuses like falling down the stairs out of extreme fear. Up to 75% of all acts of domestic violence occurs between the ages 18-24. No child should ever see domestic violence as normal because the moment that happens a future perpetrator has been born. We need to take a stand and refuse to let domestic violence become something we ignore.

This article provides a good introduction for practitioners working with children who witness family violence. The article summarizes the effects domestic violence can have on children such as; aggressiveness, depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, and sleep deprivation. The author stresses the importance of proper identification and assessment of children exposed to domestic violence. There are four goals of intervention described in this article: reducing the child’s sense of isolation, helping children to understand their

How does domestic violence between parents and parental figures affect the children who witness it? This is a question often asked by Sociologists and Psychologists alike. There have been studies that prove that children who witness domestic inter-parental violence experience mental health problems, issues with gender roles, substance abuse, the committing of crimes and suicide/suicide attempts later in their lives. This paper will explore all five of these 'effects' of domestic violence on children and show that there is evidence of a clear relationship in which increasing parental violence is associated with increasing outcome risks (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.8).

The effects of intimate partner violence are attenuating and extend far beyond physical scarring. The abuse of woman and children has been researched extensively by Rachel Pain (2014, p. 536) as acts of “terrorism within the home”. If we are to compare the experience of women and children living in violent homes and the act of ‘terrorism’ itself we get a corresponding experience (Pain, 2014, p. 546). The construction of fear, the loss of identity, the ongoing distress of constantly feeling unsafe, isolated from all support networks are the surreal and ongoing daily struggles for domestic violence victims. Living in such horrific conditions has immense physical and psychological effects on those directly exposed or indirectly exposed to such violence. Through this research the links between domestic violence and ill health has been well-established. In an attempt to combat this prevalence element two of It Stops Here (NSW): a “streamlined referral pathways to support victims’ safety and support their recovery” was introduced (NSW Government, 2014, p. 18). Through this second element, there has been a strong focus on being able to better identify risk and supporting victims. From the inquest inquiry into Luke’s death, Coroner Ian Grey stated that "I find that there is no validated risk-assessment tool that can accurately predict whether a parent is likely to commit filicide." (ABC News, 2015). In an attempt to close the gap on such issues in July 2015 It Stops Here (NSW)

Violence can be prevented, but not stopped; so why do people think that intimate partner violence can be stopped? That is the dream. Unfortunately, just like how a thief is not going to stop stealing because he could go to jail, an abuser is not going to stop abusing. All we can hope for is to be able to protect the victims after the violence and try to help them persevere. Prevention is important, but it is also important to know what the Canadian Criminal Justice System is doing to protect the victims. This paper discusses intimate partner violence (IPV) and the protection of victims by the Canadian Criminal Justice System. Protection orders, services, Criminal Justice System responses, and victim responses to the Criminal Justice System will all be examined.

The United Nations reported that each year in Canada an estimated 362,000 children witness or experience family violence these figures are hard to reflect on when we look at the amount of women affected by IPV that could be their mothers (UNICEF, 2006). When we look further at research that shows children who witness violence are more likely to grow up to become victims or abusers themselves this is where many would agree to the fullest that children in an IPV atmosphere should be removed to prevent them any problems in the long run (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2012).

Children are recognized as the future of modern society as the population continues to grow old. Therefore, each and every child has the right to be nurtured in a safe environment (Geffner, 2000). A home riddled with domestic violence is the complete opposite of what Geffner described in her book, Children exposed to domestic violence. According to the 2003 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS), almost 250 000 homes across Canada failed to provide an ideal living environment for their children (citation). Most of the damage comes at the hands of a parent or other relative, and the damage can last a lifetime. An abused child is 35% more likely to end up in violent or abusive relationships as an adult (citation). As stated by the statistic above, the likelihood

Domestic violence is a widespread sociological problem wherein women and children are most often the victims. This sociological problem is compounded by the fact that so much domestic violence goes under-reported, whether against women or children. Domestic violence may take a wide range of forms and may include a variant combination of battery, sexual abuse, verbal abuse or general violence. Targets of such behaviors may include a spouse, child or both. For the purposes of this research, there will be an interest in noting the impact on children who are exposed to violence both directly as the victims of abuse or indirectly as witnesses to spousal abuse. In either instance, the same findings are anticipated. Namely, the primary thesis driving the

Children who experience domestic violence may be as a result of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse weather this abuse was in forced by parents or other candidates. Parents and other candidates may contribute violence behavior because anger management, drug and/or alcohol addiction, or uncontrollable actions. Because no cause of domestic violence is tolerable, this impact on children may cause depression, anxiety, and increase in aggression, trauma symptoms, and antisocial behavior which will affect one’s life. Committing crimes, aggressive behavior and even suicide thoughts may occur due to ones domestic violence which will affect ones daily life. These children aren't the ones who should be blamed for their consequences of behavior, however those who inflected the violence and as a result these children have major social, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional effects. “An earlier study found that 23 per cent of young people aged 12 to20 years had witnessed violence against their mother or step-mother; 42 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) young people” (Mitchell,

Domestic violence also greatly impacts the family structure and the relationships between the members. Domestic violence threatens both the relationship between the child and their mother and the child and their father. Children who are exposed to domestic violence do not have an emotionally available parent to foster their development and have a 30-60% higher risk for being abused by the perpetrator (NCADV, 2007); when the father is the perpetrator of the violence, he often knows little about his children, their interests, and progress in school (Crosson-Tower, 2009, p. 84). The mother’s parenting style may also be damaged from domestic violence; the perpetrator may not allow the mother to take care of her children properly or soothe them when they are upset, which can cause the children to believe their mother does not care for them. When a mother is constantly traumatized by domestic violence, it can be more difficult for her to be present and attentive in her children’s lives due to depression, anxiety, and lack of sleep (Centre for children and families in the justice system, 2009). Domestic violence has an impact on the ability for a family to function. The perpetrator may sow divisions between the members of the family by turning them against each other, or favoring one child over the others. There may also be role reversals in families who experience domestic violence; parentification of the children and infantilizing of the mother may

Under the Canadian Family Violence Laws, child abuse is defined as the violence, mistreatment, or neglect that a child experiences in the care of someone whom they trust or depend on. Child abuse is further broken down into different categories including child physical abuse and child sexual abuse. In Canada, physical abuse is known as the deliberate use of force against a child, by which the child is injured or is at a risk of being injured. Sexual abuse is defined as using a child for sexual purposes. Both these abuses have detrimental consequences on the victim. The goal of this essay is to discuss the impacts of physical and sexual abuse on children, mainly focus on child sexual abuse as a crime and discuss possible causes including different

In conclusion, the information provided above goes to show that domestic violence is not an issue just between the couple. When a child grows up in a violent home it can be both a terrifying and traumatic experience that can affect every aspect of the child’s life, growth and development. Its’s also critically important to remember that domestic violence not only affects the present generation because “what begins as an assault by one person on another, reverberates throughout the entire family and the community into the future” Kaur (2008). Children deserve to live and grow up in homes where they

Observational learning and exposure to domestic violence in childhood is a prevalent issue well documented in recent literature. It is a topic of interest due to the relationship between exposure to domestic violence childhood and adulthood perpetration of domestic violence. One of the most common types of domestic violence is known as intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV can be defined as intentional physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual abuse against an intimate partner (VanderEnde, Mercy, Shawa, Kalanda, Hamela, Maksud, Ross, Gupta, Wadonda-Kabondo, & Hillis, 2016; Kerley, Xu, Sirisunyaluck, & Alley, 2009). This relationship is of importance within the community due to the rising number of domestic violence acts. The impact that domestic violence exposure has on children has been of interest, as it may hold

Domestic violence has been a main issue throughout history and all over the world; it can evidentially affect children, the elderly, women, and even men. Although abuse can affect many individuals, a significant portion of domestic abuse cases are against women. Globally, women are constantly facing physical, social and mental abuse by men and/or their significant others. In past years, the issue of domestic violence has gained the attention of researchers. In fact, studies have shown that it is a global issue negatively impacting the social and health status of individuals, particularly women. A survey of domestic abuse in Canada signifies that 29% of married women have been abused by their partners at least once (Nwosu, 2006). Many argue