About Children and Domestic Abuse

How does abuse in the home affect children?

Studies show that children do not have to see the abuse directed towards their mother to know what’s going on.

This can lead to the following effects on children:

• Feeling hopeless as if nothing they do will make a difference
• Copying the abusive behaviour of one parent or the victim behaviour of the other parent 
• Believing that the violence is their fault, especially as children are sometimes blamed by either parent for causing the conflict  
• Feeling a responsibility to stop the conflict or to protect other children in the home