Policy Issues Paper

In the United States, it is estimated over 30 million people living in America over the age of 18 have witness or experience some form domestic violence as a child. Government data research on domestic violence exposure to children, indicate four to five million children are living with domestic violence and/ or experiencing some form of child abuse within their homes per year. A high risk of heavy exposure to domestic violence for children are between the ages of three and eighteen. Over 80 percent of these children are living with their mother or a female caregiver, who is being abused by an inmate partner (s). Two-thirds of these families, the mother and child are being battered. Slightly over half of these children, who are exposed to domestic

For children living in violent and unsafe homes, they are learning that hitting and verbally abusing someone is the proper way of communicating love. According to Holt, Buckley & Whelan (2008), “as they learn a generational cycle begins in which children grow up to be victims and abusers as adults.” The effects that domestic violence has on children are heartbreaking. Some of the major effects are; increased risk of poor health, poor education, isolation, learned helplessness and decreased satisfaction in such family environment.

Domestic violence can lead to several long-lasting effects for both adults and children. While growing up, children’s brains are very susceptible to remembering and reenacting what they have previously seen. In the case of domestic violence, children can suffer from adverse childhood experiences, ACEs, which have long-lasting effects such as having trouble with school work, personality problems, social development issues, and more cognitive struggles (UNICEF, 2006, p. 4). As discussed by Karen Kenney in her book “Domestic Violence” Emotional trauma can lead to elevated levels of stress which can cause a variety of health problems. This trauma can also cause depression which can lead to thoughts of suicide and cause PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress

In 2011, Michigan became the 48th state to implement anti-bulling legislation, and by June of 2013, approximately half of the schools in Michigan had developed a policy for their institution (Freeman, 2012). Freeman shares in his article that the Michigan policy was named after a student who took his life in 2001, due to bullying. The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) 2015 High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2015) indicated that, in the state of Michigan, 4,078 students reported being bullied on school property in 2014 and 4,789 reported being electronically bullied during the same time frame.

Children exposed to child and domestic abuse can have very severe mental disorders. “Numerous studies have demonstrated that children exposed to domestic abuse and/or child abuse are more likely to experience a wide range of adverse psychosocial and behavioral outcomes’’(Carrie). Exposure to domestic abuse in childhood has been linked to a similar set of outcomes, including low self-esteem, social withdrawal, depression, and anxiety also aggression, violence, and delinquency. If a child witnesses punching, hitting, and screaming around a preschool age group can affect them through their whole life with horrific memories and/or flashbacks. It's important to realize that domestic abuse has different effects depending on the child. Problems were significantly higher for boys exposed to domestic abuse rather than girls. Other studies have shown boys to be at higher risk of externalizing problems in adolescence after being abused in childhood, but girls exposed to domestic abuse were at higher risk than boys for both externalizing and internalizing behaviors, including

Whenever we talk about the subject of domestic violence, the first concern that we have is on adults who have experienced it. However, little attention has been paid to children who were exposed to domestic violence. The tragic reality of a long term effects for who have experienced domestic violence is not only to adult but their children. The younger the children is the harder for them to understand violence and coping with it. Therefore, children who witness their parents being abused are more likely to growing up thinking hurting people is a way to protect themselves or that is okay to being hurt by other. According to a study, nearly “4.8 million acts of physical or sexual aggression are perpetrated against women while 2.9 million physically

Every year children most at risk of being exposed to violence in the home is estimated to be between 3.3 million and 10 million in the United States alone (Bourassa, 2007). With increasing frequency, more research is being carried out regarding the impact merely witnessing domestic abuse has on a child (Edleson, 2011). In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with the office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, conducted a comprehensive nationwide survey to ascertain the incidence and prevalence of children’s exposure to violence (Hamby, Finkelhor, Turner, & Ormrod, 2011). This survey is known as the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence or NatSVEC (2011). The information gathered contains the most comprehensive and detailed data collected thus far on the subject (2011). The results have proved equally alarming as the statistics regarding the act of domestic violence itself. It showed, unequivocally, that children are exposed to unacceptable rates of violence in the home. These incidents of violence include, but are not limited to, the ‘willful intimidation, assault, battery sexual assault or other abusive behavior perpetrated by one family member, household member, or intimate partner against another’ (The National Center for Victims of Crime). Over 4500 children and adolescents were interviewed telephonically. Their ages ranged from 17 and younger (Hamby, et al, 2011). They found that, more than

Believe it or not exposure to violence affects children in many ways. Children are like sponges they absorb everything they see. Children who are exposed to violence in their homes become fearful, anxious, and never feel safe. They are always worried for themselves, their mother, and their siblings. They may even feel worthless and powerless. Many children will keep the abuse a secret and not tell anyone but as time progresses they will think that it’s their fault and that that’s why the violence is occurring. Children exposed to abuse can look normal to the

Children are impacted the most in a household where domestic violence occurs. Fifty-four percent of families reported that domestic violence occurred in the child’s home (Bowen, 2000). That is over half of all children who experience some sort of physical or psychological abuse at some point in their lifetime. Children exposed to violence exhibit many more problems than children who do not witness violence at home, including anxiety; aggression; depression and temperament problems; less empathy and self-esteem; and lower verbal, cognitive, and motor abilities. Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that “children who witness domestic violence are likely to become sufferers of posttraumatic stress disorder” (Lundy, Grossman, 2005). They lack the confidence in themselves, because they are constantly told they are bad. Behavioral problems, particularly externalizing behavior, in children who witness marital violence and who are victims of abuse have been found to be worse than in children who are exposed to just one type of violence (Cox, Kotch, & Everson, 2003). Some children act up just so they can get attention from peers and elders. This is because the child does not receive the appropriate attention at home, possibly from being neglected by their parents.

Violence affects a healthy family’s relationship, state of mind and well-being, in other words, it’s normal functions. Because of violence, children are forced to endure and cope with mental, physical and emotional trauma leading to a display of impacts on health, development, and wellbeing. The effects build up over time and can impact on every aspect of their life.  How many children and innocent lives must suffer from something unnecessary? Imagine walking into a home late at night to find a child hiding in a corner, with a bloody face and cuts all around their body saying they were self-inflicted or making up other silly excuses like falling down the stairs out of extreme fear. Up to 75% of all acts of domestic violence occurs between the ages 18-24. No child should ever see domestic violence as normal because the moment that happens a future perpetrator has been born. We need to take a stand and refuse to let domestic violence become something we ignore.

Exposure to domestic violence can impact the behavioral, social-emotional, and cognitive development of children. Children who are exposed to domestic violence tend to exhibit more aggressive behaviors with their peers, show signs of depression, and have a difficult time forming relationships (Brown & Bzostek, 2003). Cognitively, studies have shown that children exposed to domestic violence may have difficulties learning and concentrating in school, have difficulties with conflict resolution skills, and may believe in male privilege, (Brown & Bzostek, 2003). Concentration is difficult for children exposed to domestic violence because of how unsafe they may feel in their surroundings. They may be preoccupied with the violence that is

(Brescoll & Graham-Bermann, 2000, p.2). Another mental health problem that children who have witnessed domestic violence experience is adjustment problems. There appears to be a wide spread belief that children who witness violence between their parents are at a greater risk of later adjustment difficulties that may include behavior problems (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.3). Young people reporting high levels of exposure to inter-parental violence had elevated rates of adjustment problems by age eighteen (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.1). It is suggested that there are elevated rates of behavioral, emotional, and other problems in children exposed to inter-parental violence (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.3). There seems little doubt that children reared in homes characterized by inter-parental violence were at greater risk of later adjustment difficulties as young adults (Fergusson & Horwood, 1998, p.11). It is quite apparent that there is a link between the witnessing of domestic violence and the mental health problems of the children who witness it.

Through this article, we learn that infants who experience domestic violence have trouble sleeping and eating, while older children develop a change in behavior and anxiety (McFarlane et al. 2003; Hornor, 2005). Boys who experience violence in the home tend to be more aggressive and disobedient. While on the other hand, girls who experience violence in the home tend to be more introverted and depressed. Nonetheless, both genders are impacted negatively by domestic violence.

· There should be doubled the number of intelligence analysts and also tripled the amount of linguists within the entire agency.

Domestic violence affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men (NCADV, 2015). Although the devastating effects that domestic violence has on women are well known, there is a population of domestic violence victims that we tend to overlook. These are the children of the women and men who are in domestic violence situations. Children are the invisible victims when it comes to domestic violence. There are many statistics being thrown around when it comes to the number of children who are exposed to domestic violence; they range from as little as 200,000 to even 3-18 million (Sousa et. al., 2011). A 2001 study discovered that in 75% of the cases in their study, children were present in the home during the assaults (Hutchison & Hirschel, 2001).