Listen to Me! Children's experiences of domestic violence

Abstract

This paper reports on a study undertaken in the Republic of Ireland during 2005 and is based on the experiences of children and young people who have lived with domestic violence. The objectives of the study were to explore the impact of domestic violence on children, identify their needs and recommend appropriate interventions to be brokered through a centrally based women's support service. Data were gathered from 70 participants, including 37 service providers/ volunteers, 11 mothers and 22 children and young people who had lived in violent environments. The data indicated that children respond in unique ways to living with domestic violence, and that services to meet their needs must be tailored to suit their individual situations. The impact of domestic violence on their lives manifested itself with regard to their sense of fear and anxiety in relation to themselves, their siblings and their mothers; their self-esteem and sense of being 'different', their relationships (including ambivalent relationships with their fathers); their experiences of education and their sense of a lost childhood. The final report for the study was based on the total data collection, but this paper will concentrate primarily on the material elicited from the children and young people.

Intimate partner violence and child abuse: a child‐centred perspective

“…The inclusion of such perspectives is likely to substantially enhance the extent to which the literature addressing children forced to live with intimate partner violence is able to capture, and better elucidate, the experiences of such children (Buckley et al, 2007).…”

“…Children forced to live with intimate partner violence experience a range of negative outcomes (see Bedi and Goddard, 2007;Buckley et al, 2007;Holt et al, 2008). Some children experiencing such violence develop post-traumatic stress disorder (McCloskey and Walker, 2000).…”

Domestic Abuse and Child Contact: Positioning Children in the Decision-making Process

“…Specifically, this paper examines how the child's views and experiences on contact are considered and represented, presenting a greater insight into both the contact decision-making process and into children and young peoples' views, feelings and understanding of contact with their father. This is reflective of a growing ethos of respect for the child's position in a process that involves all family members (Buckley, Holt, & Whelan, 2007;Mullender et al, 2002). This paper begins with a select review of the literature exploring the debate regarding the role children should or indeed should not play in the decision-making process concerning post-separation contact.…”

Perspectives on US Domestic Violence Emergency Shelters: What do Young Adolescent Residents and their Mothers Say?

“…While the needs of younger children have begun to be addressed, research on IPV-exposed adolescents is scarce. Also, while a number of studies conducted outside the US have sought the emic perspective on exposure to adult IPV from children and youth who have lived through the experience (Buckley, Holt, & Whelan, 2007;Goldblatt, 2003;McGee, 2000;Mullender et al, 2002), very few qualitative studies have been published detailing the lived experiences of American children and youth exposed to IPV (Peled, 1998). Even in the growing body of quantitative literature on this population, Sternberg, Lamb, & Dawad-Noursi noted the absence of children and youth perspectives: ''Mothers are relied on as the primary (and often sole) informants.…”