FAQS: What are the effects of domestic violence on children?
The majority of children witness the violence that is occurring and in about half of all domestic violence situations, they are also being directly abused themselves.

How are children exposed to domestic violence?

Children can 'witness domestic violence' in a variety of ways. For example, they may be in the same room and may even get caught in the middle of an incident in an effort to make the violence stop. They may be in the room next door and hear the abuse or see their mother's physical injuries following an incident of violence. They may be forced to stay in one room or may not be allowed to play. They may be forced to witness sexual abuse or they may be forced to take part in verbally abusing the victim. All children witnessing domestic violence are being emotionally abused.
From 31 January 2005, Section 120 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into force, which extends the legal definition of harming children to include harm suffered by seeing or hearing ill treatment of others, especially in the home.

Are the effects the same for every child?

Children can experience both short and long term cognitive, behavioural and emotional effects.Each child will respond differently to  trauma and some may be resilient and not exhibit any negative effects.

Children's responses to the trauma of witnessing DV may vary according to a multitude of factors including, but limited to, age, race, sex and stage of development. It is equally important to remember that the common effects experienced by children can also be caused by something other than witnessing domestic violence and therefore a thorough assessment of a child's situation is vital to ensure appropriate treatment.
Children are individuals and may respond to witnessing abuse in different ways. These are some of the effects described in a briefing by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2004):

• They may become anxious or depressed
• They may have difficulty sleeping
• They have nightmares or flashbacks
• They can be easily startled
• They may complain of physical symptoms such as tummy aches
• They may start to wet their bed
• They may have temper tantrums
• They may behave as though they are much younger
• They may have problems with school
• They may become aggressive or they may internalise their distress and withdraw from other people
• They may have a lowered sense of self-worth
• Older children may begin to play truant or start to use alcohol or drugs
• They may begin to self-harm by taking overdoses or cutting themselves
• They may have an eating disorder

Children may also feel angry, guilty, insecure, alone, frightened, powerless or confused. They may have ambivalent feelings towards the abuser and the non-abusing parent.