The Impacts Of Exposure To Domestic Violence On The Emotional And Behavioural Well-being Of Children

Executive Summary

Domestic violence has been considered a major public health issue in most jurisdictions including Australia. The violence could be in the form of psychological, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Within a family context, these abuses affect both the perpetrators and the victims, but in most cases, children, due to their vulnerability, become the most affected by the exposure incidence to domestic violence. This report is addressed to White Ribbon to advise the organization, through its state Chief Executive Officer on ways in which children’s exposure to domestic violence and the effects of this exposure can be addressed. The report highlights that exposure to domestic violence predisposes children to emotional and behavioural problems both in the present and future. To protect the children from these problems, the report recommends that White Ribbon should facilitate the recognition of children as secondary victims of domestic violence, rehabilitation f children through institutional placement, and develop support groups for the children.

Introduction

From time immemorial, domestic violence has been considered a major public health issue in most jurisdictions including Australia (Mitchell, 2011). Hulst & Akkermans (2011) defines domestic violence as an act of violence occurring between people in an intimate relationship or among people who have had an intimate relationship before. The violence could be in the form of psychological, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Within a family context, these abuses affect both the perpetrators and the victims, but Beeman (2001) argues that in most cases, children, due to their vulnerability, become the most affected by the exposure incidence to domestic violence. This report is addressed to White Ribbon, a non-governmental organization whose mission is to advocate against domestic violence in Australia. The report seeks to advise the organization, through its state Chief Executive Officer on ways in which children’s exposure to domestic violence, and the effects of this exposure can be addressed.

The issue of children’s exposure to domestic violence is problematic because of the several effects that this exposure has on children their lives in childhood and later in adulthood. Existing research has shown a relationship between a child’s exposure to violence and subsequent victimization in adulthood. For instance, studies by International Violence against Women Survey (IVAWS) indicated that women who had experienced violence at childhood were two times more likely to experience violence at adulthood than those who did not (Mitchell, 2011). Besides, research by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2005) showed that both men and women who were exposed to violence at a childhood were more predisposed to partner abuse and violence at adulthood than those who had not experienced child abuse and violence. Furthermore, ABS (2005) shows that individuals who had experienced abuse at childhood were twice more likely to experience violence by their partners than those who had not experienced violence. Based on these pieces of evidence, this report submits that there is a dire need for effective and early interventions aimed at addressing the issue of child exposure to violence – particularly as preventive measures to experiences of violence later in their adulthood.

As hinted earlier in this report, exposure to domestic violence is also a problematic issue because of the effects it has on children’s developmental aspects. In the subsequent section, this report highlights the emotional and behavioural effects, as well as the developmental effects of such child exposure to domestic violence, so as to develop a justification for various interventions against child exposure to violence.

Various pieces of academic research have evidenced the effects of exposure to violence among children on their emotions and behaviour. However, Bridges & Roe (2007) note that these pieces of evidence may still be limited due to the difficulties associated with conducting research on emotional and behavioural effects. For instance, Graham-Bermann et al (2011) indicate that researchers who would like to include control or comparison groups in their studies find it difficult to find children exposed to violence and not provided with services. However, the available evidence, as will be highlighted shortly below, is enough to build a case for urgent interventions.

Whereas children of all ages are affected by exposure to domestic violence, less is known about the consequences of this exposure to the children, especially due to a mistaken assumption that very young children may not remember or know what happened (Hamby et al, 2010). Yet, pieces of research evidence indicate that the emotions and behaviours of toddlers and infants at their earlier stages of development are affected by exposure to domestic violence. For example, according to Holt et al (2008), toddlers and infants who experience domestic violence tend to develop behaviours of regression in language and toiletry, emotional distress, sleep disturbances, poor language development, and excessive irritability. Besides, Kitzmann et al (2003) indicate that the trauma experienced by toddlers and infants when exposed to violence affects their exploratory behaviours and trust development – a phenomenon that leads to the development of autonomy in them.

Reports by Lam et al (2009) revealed that toddlers and infants exposed to domestic violence tend to have similar symptoms as adults with post-traumatic stress disorders; including avoidance, increased arousal, the increased experience of the traumatic event and numbed responsiveness. For example, children may be afraid to be near the scene of violence they had experienced, may experience nightmares or be afraid to go to sleep, or they may show various forms of emotions during their play.

Existing pieces of evidence also show that exposure to domestic violence may contribute to the emotions and behaviour imbalance of school-age children. For example, studies by Malik (2008) show that children who witness repeated incidences of domestic or community violence tend to depress, anxious and aggressive. Furthermore, Mbilinyi et al (2007) reported that children at school-age are more likely to be less explorative, may experience sleep disturbances, become less explorative and tend to be less motivated to master their environment. Moreover, based on the evidence produced by Malik (2008), exposure to domestic violence predisposes school-age children to intrusive thoughts which affect their ability to concentrate and pay attention in the classroom. These insights corroborate with the assertions of Mitchell (2011) that the intrusive thoughts emerge as a result of the children having more understanding of the intentionality of the violence and therefore they keep thinking of what they could have done to prevent it.

There are several pieces of evidence highlighting the psychosocial impacts of children’s exposure to domestic violence. For instance, Hunter et al (2003) and Moffit & Caspi (2003) reveal evidence that associates exposure to domestic violence with delinquency, aggression, social withdrawal, low self-esteem and depression among children.

A study by Evans et al (2008) analysed the relationship between domestic violence exposure in adolescence and in childhood and externalizing or internalizing behaviour. The study found a significant (.48 (SE=.04)) relationship between exposure to violence among its participants and internalizing behaviours, and a significant (.47 (SE=.05)) relationship between exposure to violence and externalizing behaviours.

Having evaluated several pieces of evidence indicating the problematic nature of child exposure to domestic violence, this report hereby presents various recommendations on how child exposure to violence can be addressed. For purposes of comprehensiveness and clarity, this report will recommend remedies to child exposure to violence and the possible implications of these recommendations.

Considering the emotional and behavioural effects that children suffer when exposed to domestic violence, this report, through the White Ribbon organization, recommends that the government should legally recognize them as secondary victims who are entitled to compensation and other supporting services that come along with such recognition. To support this recommendation, there are several pieces of research that have attempted to evaluate the viability of acknowledgment as secondary victims of emotional or psychological torture and whether monetary awards are effective in meeting the secondary victims’ psychological, emotional or non-pecuniary needs. Beforehand, an evaluation of the effectiveness of monetary awards as a compensation to the children’s emotional torture is especially important because the authorities must establish whether monetary awards is acceptable or can be a helpful response to the emotional damage – based on the psychological theory of “taboo trade-offs” (Schatman & Sullivan 2010). According to Tetlock et al (2000), this theory holds that individuals tend to consider life, love, and health as sacred values and therefore, such things should are treated with so much importance so that they are qualitatively different from money.

Against this background, evidence by Hulst & Akkermans (2011) shows that secondary victims (i.e. those who have experienced their relatives injured, killed or severely undergo crime) tend to evaluate the symbolic nature of monetary compensation as a remedy to experience or exposure to violence. By empirically evaluating both qualitative and quantitative studies on monetary compensation to secondary victims, the researchers found a perception among the victims that monetary compensation is a positive rather than a negative response to the severe emotional injury caused by exposure to or experience of family violence. Therefore, based on this evidence, this report submits that recognising children who exposed to domestic violence, and compensating them in monetary terms, will be an effective way of delivering justice to these innocent children.

However, White Ribbon must recognise the financial implications of this recommendation to the government. First, this recommendation requires the government to initiate legislation that acknowledges this group of children as secondary victims. Apart from being a long and tedious process, the process of developing legislation can cost the government a significant amount of financial resources – and the government may claim not to have these resources. Furthermore, the government may claim not to have the financial resources to facilitate monetary compensation. Thus, it may be of interest for White Ribbon to engage in lobbying for finances to help support this recommended initiative.

This report also recommends that the children should be enrolled in safe zones that act as counselling centres and setup or receiving all the support they need for securing their future success. As part of a social service intervention, safe zones can act as alternative living arrangements that provide continuous contact between social workers and the children to enable effective implementation of rehabilitative programs that help in building the emotional and behavioural distortions caused by exposure to violence (Zaenah et al, 2009). Besides, according to Van den Dries (2009), safe zones or institutional placement can provide an opportunity for the children to receive therapeutic services as a remedy for the psychosocial damages such as depression and anxiety that they might have suffered as a result of exposure to domestic violence. The recommended institutional placement can either be directly administered by the government through its social services state agencies or provided by White Ribbon in partnership with the government and/or other sponsors. To implement this recommendation, white Ribbon will also need to rely on volunteer individuals (e.g. volunteer counsellors) and organizations to have a variety of ways of meeting the children’s needs.

However, there are several hurdles and implications that are likely to be met by White Ribbon in implementing this recommendation. For instance, White Ribbon might encounter legal challenges in regards to their custodial rights of taking the children into institutional placement, owing to the legal protections held by the parents over their children. However, in the Australian context, the Family law amendment Act 2006 advocates for a meaningful relationship between children and their families, and guarantees children the protection from any harm. White Ribbon can, therefore, rely on this legislation, together with the pieces of evidence provided herein on the harmful nature of child exposure to violence, to build a case for institutional placement.

Nonetheless, volunteer counsellors are also likely to encounter the challenge of secondary trauma. Moore & Roberts (2010) defines secondary trauma as a kind of stress emerges when social workers or therapists who work with abused children and has similar symptoms (e.g. depression, compassion fatigue or burnout) as those found in post-traumatic stress disorder – after listening to the victim traumatic stories of abuse experiences. However, counsellors can deal with secondary trauma by acknowledging it and understanding what they are experiencing.

The third recommendation that this report presents to White Ribbon is an establishment of support groups for the children exposed to violence. According to Brabender et al (2004), child support groups entail a one or two social workers who work with a selected group of children towards addressing specific problems such as depression, anxiety as well as helping them to cope with various challenges such as emotional regulation and behavioural change. This report recommends support groups due to the many benefits it does provide – that individual therapy does not. For example, children tend to perceive their problems as unique to them and this can contribute to loneliness (Brabender et al, 2004). However, when they are part of a group, they see themselves as having similar problems and therefore feel supported, understood and validated. Nevertheless, one challenge that White Ribbon is likely to encounter with support groups is that the children may feel a lack of confidentiality because within the group context, they may feel awkward about how they are perceived or labelled by the public.

Conclusion

To conclude, this report has highlighted various pieces of evidence revealing the impactful nature of children’s exposure to violence on their emotional and behavioural well-being. This report gives the first step of understanding child exposure to domestic violence, its effects, recommendations to remedy the effects and implications for these recommendations. Being an evidence-based report, it is expected that its proper implementation will not only remedy the emotional and behavioural damages that this group of children encounter, but will also provide a blueprint for future research on the problem.

References

• ABS (2005) Personal safety survey Australia (reissue), op. cit. p. 29.
• Beeman, S.K. (2001) Critical issues in research on social networks and social supports of children exposed to domestic violence. In: Domestic Violence in the Lives of Children: The Future of Research, Intervention and Social Policy (eds S. Graham-Bermann & J. Edleson), pp. 219–234. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
• Bridges, L. & Roe, A. (2007) Children’s perspectives on their relationships with grandparents following parental separation: a longitudinal study. Social Development, 16, 539–554.
• Brabender, V., Fallon, A., & Smolar, A. I. (2004). Essentials of group therapy. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
• Evans E., Davies C., DiLillo D. (2008) Exposure to domestic violence: A meta-analysis of child and adolescent outcomes. Aggression and Violent Behavior;13:131–140.
• Family law amendment Act 2006
• Graham-Bermann S., Howell K., Lilly M., & Devoe E. (2011). Mediators and moderators of change in adjustment following intervention for children exposed to intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(9), 1815–1833.
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• Holt S., Buckley H., & Whelan S. (2008). The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: a review of the literature. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(8), 797–810
• Hulst, L., & Akkermans J. (2011). Can Money Symbolize Acknowledgment? How Victims' Relatives Perceive Monetary Awards for Their Emotional Harm. Psychological injury and law, 4(3-4), 245–262.
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• To conclude, this report has highlighted various pieces of evidence revealing the impactful nature of children’s exposure to violence on their emotional and behavioural well-being. This report gives the first step of understanding child exposure to domestic violence, its effects, recommendations to remedy the effects and implications for these recommendations. Being an evidence-based report, it is expected that its proper implementation will not only remedy the emotional and behavioural damages that this group of children encounter, but will also provide a blueprint for future research on the problem.