Children don’t just witness domestic violence. They EXPERIENCE it. Even when not the direct target of the abusive act, seeing a parent, sibling, grandparent, or pet targeted by abuse can have a significant long-term emotional and psychological impact on children. In fact, many childhood survivors of domestic violence often indicate wishing THEY had been the target of the abuse, rather than having to watch their loved ones be targeted by the abuser.
This webinar will discuss the specific threats of physical, psychological, and emotional harm for children living in a home where partner abuse/domestic violence occurs. Common misconceptions will be addressed, including the idea that a child can be too young to be affected by abuse in the home, physically observable signs of injury are an appropriate estimator of victimization, and the idea that children who do not actually see a violent act occur are not significantly harmed by it. In addition, participants will learn of multi-disciplinary initiatives and concepts that relate to improving the prevention and detection of domestic violence occurring in homes where children reside and mitigating the harmful impact of witnessing and experiencing the abuse of a loved one.
Other topics to be discussed include the various forms of child emotional maltreatment, toxic stress, child-caregiver attachment, “emotionally unavailable parents,” the effects of witnessing threats or violence against animals living within the home, caregiver risk factors for domestic violence and emotional maltreatment, how to better identify victims, and what to do once victims have been identified.
