Day 7: Children are abused

Posted on December 01, 2017 at 03:27 PM

Domestic violence continues to be a very common context in which children experience abuse, with the abuser of the mother being the abuser of the children. Research shows that the more severe the domestic violence is against the mother, the higher the risk of abuse against the children in the home.

In 2016, there were 3,823 disclosures of child abuse to the Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline.

This figure includes 3,558 disclosures of emotional abuse and 183 disclosures where children were physically or sexually abused by the perpetrator of their mother’s abuse. It also includes 82 disclosures of where children were being abused during access visits and 18 disclosures of child abduction in the context of domestic violence.

Our recent Femicide Watch 2017 tells us that 14 children were killed alongside their mothers in intimate partner homicides.

  The abusive tactics used against children living with domestic violence in 2016 included:

• Children witnessing verbal, physical and sexual abuse against their mother.
• Children being slapped, punched, shouted at and called names.
• Children and their mothers being threatened with murder suicide.
• Children being sexually abused
• Children being emotionally manipulated and used against their mother
• Children being told lies about their mother by the abuser.

The abuse of the mother and children often continues after separation, especially in the context of access visits and joint custody.

Women’s Aid believes that custody and access arrangements in Family Law proceedings often disregard the impact of domestic violence on children and as a result risk continuing abuse of the children as well as exposure to abuse of their mother during the hand over period. Child contact should not outweigh child protection and safety should be prioritised in all custody and access proceedings.

Click here to visit the Women's Aid website for helpful information on domestic violence and children and you can call our National Freephone Helpline on 1800 341 900, 24 hours, 7 days.

Permanent link | Categories: 16 facts for 16 days • Day 7 • 1st December 2017