'Hurting, Coping, Growing', a training video launched at the Nerve Centre in Derry last month by Northern Ireland Women's Aid Federation focuses on how children are affected by and deal with domestic violence.
| Sometimes children feel stuck in the middle and try to stop physical abuse by throwing themselves between parents. |
The hard-hitting video, aimed to raise awareness in schools and organisations working with children, is a compilation of poetry, art work and animation. It shows how young people are affected by domestic violence and how they deal with it.
There has not been a lot of research on the effects of domestic violence on children in Northern Ireland.
"We hope this video helps schools and other agencies working with children recognise the signs and effects of domestic violence on children and provide a way to help them," said Charlene Craig, NIWAF information services worker.
Children who have suffered or witnessed domestic violence can become withdrawn and fearful of the abuser. Some fall behind in school, become aggressive themselves; sometimes they feel stuck in the middle and try to stop physical abuse by throwing themselves between parents. Others can adopt abusive behaviour and play parents off against each other.
Some children however concentrate on school work or hobbies as a means of escape and show no obvious signs of being affected by domestic violence; while others repeat similar patterns of abuse in later life.
While there has been great progress in raising awareness of domestic violence in general there is still a lacking in education and awareness around the issue of children, Ms Craig said.
Last year, 11 NIWAF refuges provided a safe shelter for 1,619 children. During the last decade, NIWAF has housed more than 14,000 children.
"Our help-line received 26,000 calls for advice and support; around 70 percent of those involved children," said Ms Craig. "This figure is actually very low because there are thousands more who do not seek help from Women's Aid," she added.
The Domestic Violence and Family Homes Northern Ireland Order introduced last year extends legal protection for families experiencing domestic violence. Courts in Northern Ireland must now take into account the affects of domestic violence on children when they make decisions about contact and non-molestation orders. The Act, which covers the rest of the UK does not have such provision around these orders.
About the team
This article was produced by Lisa Skinner, 17, and Thomas Kielty, 15. It was published in Fortnight, a Northern Ireland current affairs magazine.
