Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence

Abstract

Domestic violence can be defined as the systematic pattern of abusive behaviours in a relationship that is used to gain and/or maintain control and power over another person. This can include physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, and/or technological or financial abuse. The impact of domestic violence on children who witness these events can be devastating and puts these children at a greater risk of being abused themselves. The impact of witnessing domestic violence can have many developmental impacts on children, and those can start as early as conception and carry on through adulthood depending on the severity of the trauma. Children exhibit an array of emotions when it comes to coping with witnessing domestic violence.