Children and Adolescents as Victims of Domestic Violence

Children are particularly vulnerable in situations involving domestic violence because they have fewer opportunities and means to influence their circumstances. Violence within a family always affects children, whether they experience it directly or indirectly, for example by being exposed to violence between their parents.

Experiencing family violence during childhood can have long-term effects on a person’s development. It may influence brain development, self-image, moral understanding, ability to cope with stress, and sense of basic safety throughout life.

When children experience violence in close relationships, the perpetrator may be a parent, sibling, grandparent, or another person who lives in the household or plays a significant role in the family’s daily life. Witnessing violence and living in an atmosphere of fear and threat can be just as harmful to a child’s development as being directly subjected to violence.

Corporal punishment refers to violence against a child that is justified by a parent or caregiver as a form of discipline or upbringing, such as spanking the child. However, violent forms of discipline are harmful to children and may teach them to use violence themselves when dealing with conflicts.

Children may also experience occasional or everyday emotional abuse, such as humiliation, intimidation, blaming, ridicule, or belittlement. In addition, they may be subjected to sexual abuse within the family or other close relationships. Abuse against children may also involve elements related to concepts of honour or religious beliefs.

Children can also experience harm through neglect. This occurs when parents or caregivers fail to meet a child’s basic needs, such as adequate nutrition, rest, physical care, and emotional and psychological safety.

Teenagers may also experience abuse in their romantic relationships. During their first relationships, they are learning about intimacy and developing expectations and beliefs about what intimate relationships should be like. For this reason, harmful relationship patterns formed during adolescence can have a long-lasting impact on future relationships, self-image, and self-worth.

Growing up in an unsafe home environment may also make adolescents more vulnerable to unhealthy or abusive romantic relationships. Abuse in close relationships may seem normal or familiar to them. In addition, they may not have a trusted adult with whom they feel safe discussing concerns about relationships and dating.

Children and Adolescents as Victims of Domestic Violence

Read more about domestic violence