CHILD EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Exposure to domestic or household violence also includes exposure to abuse of siblings and is also now deemed as the fifth subtype of child maltreatment.
Exposure can include:
- Seeing
- Hearing
- Being involved – intervening or being used as hostage
- Peacemaking
- Phoning Police
- Aftermath – including arrest, injuries to victim, and turmoil
- Parent leaving home
- Child moving out with Parent and relocating
Quick Stats:
Generally research indicates:
- Children exposed to domestic violence are also physically or sexually assaulted in about half of the cases
- Domestic violence is significantly more likely to occur in households with children under 5
- As many as 3 out of 5 domestic violence incidents take place in front of a child
The last form of emotional abuse is exposure to household violence – which includes violence against a parent, a sibling or another member of the household.
It’s commonly accepted in Australia that children who are exposed to domestic violence are psychologically harmed and this exposure is likely to impact on their social development.
We talk about it as “exposure” because it’s more than just seeing the violence. It can be an entire experience. Children suffer from hearing or being involved in the violence (eg intervening to break up the fight or defend a victim), being used as a hostage, being forced to spy against the other parent, acting as peacemaker before the fight, having to telephone the police, and seeing the aftermath including an arrest, a parent’s injuries, and a parent’s anguish. Sometimes they have to leave home with a parent and even relocate away from friends and school.
In almost half of the cases where children are being exposed to domestic violence, they are also being physically or sexually abused.
Domestic violence is significantly more likely to occur in households with children under five years old.
Almost 3 out of every 5 cases of domestic abuse take place in front of a child although the figures are thought to be more as an estimate as many cases still go unreported. In Level 4 – Domestic & Family Violence and the Impact on Children we go into this topic in depth.
