4.1 How children are affected by Domestic Violence and how they cope.

Domestic violence happens in a family as a behavior practiced in a prolonged period. According to the research done by Wagstaff (2009), domestic violence in the family, does not happen in a single incident. A family that has witnessed domestic violence is likely to witness it again and again. This is what predisposes the children to psychological trauma, as a result of witnessing continuous violence in the family violence, especially while they are very young. The research done Cunningham and Baker (2007) outlines various ways through which minors are affected by domestic violence. The first way is exposure of the children to a sorrowful state of the aftermath of the violence. This may come about due to damage to property and injuries to the children. Secondly, children may be abused physically. Izzidien (2008) asserts that angry molesters can displace their hunger by physically assaulting the children. He argues that children have even been abused sexually in some circumstances. In line with the feminist perspective of domestic violence, Hines and Morrison (2004) observe that men do most of the physical and sexual abuses. The third way through which children are affected by domestic violence is through witnessing it. When children witness violence, they are tortured psychologically, and this problem may affect them for a long period. The fourth way children experience violence, according to Cunningham and Baker (2007), is by being threatened, and sometimes being forced to comply. This impacts their lives greatly. They may live a life of stress and depression, as well as, fear. In addition, psychological trauma presents when children are interrogated about the behavior of their parents. In some instances, children have been called to give testimonies concerning the violent behavior of their parents. This predisposes them to long term psychological torture.

The department of Home Office (2008) outlines several effects of domestic violence on children. Decline in educational performance has been noted among children affected by domestic violence. Some of them end p engaging in juvenile crime, and also substance abuse. Still, some of them exclude themselves from others. Psychological disturbances are among the most serious impact of domestic violence in children because they experience it in a prolonged period. Izzidien (2008) outlines the role of culture, faith and societal differences in the way children experience domestic violence. Linking this with the feministic perspective of domestic violence, Izzidien (2008) argues that patriarchal societies have demonstrated great influence in threatening children, and forcing them to comply with their demands.

Coping with domestic violence is very stressing for the children. Wagstaff (2009) asserts that children living in a setting characterized with domestic violence usually live in fear. They are likely to be abused by both the abusing, and the non-abusing parent. Home office (2008) notes that children living in a setting characterized with domestic violence tend to be mentally disturbed till their adulthood, and some of them extend the abuse to their spouses in the future. While in school, these children associate less with their colleagues, hence their psychological distress continues.

4.2 Factors and causes of domestic violence.

Wolfe and Jaffe (1999) outline some theoretical perspectives that explain the underlying causes of domestic violence. The first among these theories is the biological theory. It postulates that a violent behavior is genetic in nature. It views violence as emanating from biological and mental processes. These may develop as a result of previous exposure to domestic violence. Through this view, genetic differences among individuals determine their possibility of being abusing or not. The other theory of domestic violence outlined by Wolfe and Jaffe (1999) is the psychopathological theory. This theory is explained from the perspective of personality. It involves behavioral experiences that can be learned in childhood, that affect personality. An example is the male bitterness. The theory presupposes that a personality can be inclined towards the urge to abuse. When it is learned, it becomes hard to leave it. The other theory of domestic violence according to Wolfe and Jaffe (2009) is commonality structure theory. It is composed of a number of causes including the tendency of society to ignore the problem of domestic violence. Wolfe and Jaffe argue that most people in the society tend to consider domestic violence as common misunderstandings between couples. They then give it little attention. This gives it a chance to gain roots and impact greatly on children. Couple and family interactions theory postulates that domestic violence emanates from dysfunctional interactions between the couple. It has a correlation with the family systems theory. A family should function like a system. In cases where this system is disrupted, domestic violence may result. Societal learning and developmental theory argue that the tendency to practice domestic violence is learned in the society. The learner practices the learning in the future. Finally, disruption in the balance of power in the society is explained as the cause of domestic violence under the societal structure theory.

Apart from the theoretical perspectives, there are other factors in the society or family that have been associated with domestic violence. Goldsmith (2006) outlines several factors that cause domestic violence among families. Drug and also alcohol abuse is a major factor contributing to domestic violence. This is because the addiction substance causes violent behavior, which can be extended to the partners in a relationship. A substance like alcohol, for example, reduces the activity of the brain to prevent violent behavior. Controlled behavior is also a factor that causes domestic violence. Goldsmith argues that abusers display controlled behavior; hence they hit parts of the body that will not show injuries. The other factor that Goldsmith (2006) outlines is

4.3 Factors that influence the impact of domestic violence in children:

The effect of domestic violence to a child depends on several factors. NCTSN (2010) considers gender, age of the child, perceptions by the society, support by the family, child trauma history, and the severity of the violence as some of the factors that influence the outcome. The factors also influence how the children respond, perceive, and cope with the violence directed against them. The effect on their perception, response and coping affects the impact to a great extent.

Gender influences impact of the domestic violence on children in various ways. Going by the feministic perspective, the gender of the parent abusing the child affects the outcome. NCTSN (2010) records that violence effected by a male is severe for the child,than violence effected by a female. The gender of the child being abused also matters. Abuse to males is different from abuse to females. Physical abuse is more prevalent in males than in the females (NSTSN 2010). On the other hand, sexual abuse among the female children is more than among male children.

Culture, ethnicity and race affect how children are affected by domestic violence (Izzidien, 2008). Culture, for example, has constructed values that it safeguards. Violation of such values through domestic violence can be perceived as an attack towards the culture as a whole system. The society will, therefore, move with speed to safeguard the cultural values, and, in this way, affect the impact of domestic violence. This will also deter the abuser from perpetuating the behavior. On the contrary, patriarchal societies give men a lot of powers, to the extent of extending domestic violence against the women without being questioned (Izzidien 2008). The child’s trauma history also determines how they will be affected by domestic violence. Cohen (2007) argues that children in the refugee camps are more affected by violence, because of a continued culture of violence. Such children are less informed of any self-help groups, and thus, they tend to be more disturbed.

The work of Cohen (2007) also looks at the effect age has on domestic violence. Preschool children have been found to be at greater risks for domestic violence than older children. Cohen observes that younger children and infants’ emotional and cognitive development are highly affected by domestic violence. This is because the impact manifests through impairing normal development of the child. Neurobiological development is also altered, and this may be long term. At a young age, attachment to parents greatly affects the development of the child. It is, therefore, paramount that the cognitive development of a child is not interrupted by domestic violence. The severity of the impact also affects its outcome. Severe physical impact can make the children lose some parts of their body, especially if it involves sharp instruments. A sexual abuse exerted to a minor by an adult leaves an effect that may not heal for life. This is different compared with one exerted by a person of the same age. The support a family or the society gives to the abuse children determines the impact of the act of abuse to a very great extent. An example is a patriarchal society, dominated by male chauvinism, and will view domestic violence as a form of punishment; thus the children are likely to suffer more under such a society. (Izzidien 2008).

4.4 How Society Responds to Domestic Violence.

Various groups in the United Kingdom have shown commitment to participate in preventing, as well as, helping victims of domestic violence to cope. Both government and non-governmental organizations are involved. This is very vital since support by the society affects the impact of domestic violence affects the impact of domestic violence on children to a great deal.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is one such organization in the United Kingdom that advocates for the freedom of children. In its 2012 report, the NSPCC outlines the ways and methods in which it intervenes to ensure that he child is free. The organization conducts research to inform the society on issues regarding domestic violence on children. They advocate for equal access in terms of treatment services to children. This applies mostly to children who have been neglected as a result of domestic violence. The organization also implements activities that prevent children from being harmed. To ensure that they impact on the children, the organization involves the children in decision making regarding their programmes.

Women’s aid is another organization that concerns its programmes on the issue of domestic violence. Even though the organization was formed to deal with women issues, it has recently engaged deeply into the issues of children. The organization teaches women on the best way to handle domestic violence, in a way that will not affect the children (Women’s Aid n.d).

The police body in the UK has been blamed in the way they handle domestic violence cases, especially prevention. Horley (2013) connotes that the negligence of the police leads to atleast a death every week. She laments that this affects more than seven fifty thousand children annually. Horley heads Refuge, an organization that fights for freedom of children, and fights to prevent domestic violence and its effects to children (Horley 2013). Refuge has been campaigning against domestic violence for more than four decades, but failure of some systems, like the police to take responsibilities, has frustrated the efforts. The emphasis Horley makes the failure of the system to protect children and women from domestic violence, leading to their death.

MatcZack, Hatzidiritiadou, and Lindsay (2011) outlines the government agencies that deal with domestic violence. These include the police domestic violence unit, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA), Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ASVA), The UK Human Trafficking Centre, and the Forced Marriage Unit. These government agencies respond to domestic violence by implementing government policy to ensure that law is followed. In doing so, they help prevent domestic violence among couples and friends. This points to the commitment of the government in combating domestic violence.

 

4.5 Laws, policies, and practice on domestic violence on women.

In line with the recommendations of the United Nations, the UK government has been trying to promote inter-ministerial coordination to promote easy protection of women and children rights. This is meant to promote policy development in the implementation of protective policies at the local level (MatcZack, Hatzidiritiadou, and Lindsay 2011). This policy of the UK government draws partly from the United Nations regarding human rights. The rights of a child are provided by the UN Convention, which is subscribed to by more than 190 countries (UNICEF 1989). In line with this, the United Kingdom signed a charter in 1991 that guarantees the rights of children (Wagstaff 2009). The charter put forward by the United Nations recognizes the rights of children as the right to protection from neglect and abuse, the right to leisure, education and free association, promotion of physical and psychological recovery and the right for the expression of opinion.

The coordination of inter-ministerial policy led to the enactment of the publication, ‘Living Without Fear: An Integrated Approach to Tackling Violence against Women’ (Home Office 2008). This publication was enacted in the year 2009. However, the government did not show much commitment towards the implementation of the policy. Instead, the government embarked on supporting local non-governmental strategies. This is ironical since the central government was mandated with curbing criminal acts linked to domestic violence.

Another policy was published in 2000. It was ‘Domestic Violence: Break The Chain Multy-Agency Guidance for Addressing Domestic Violence’ (Home Office 2008). This was done after consultations with the stake-holders and the agencies that were dealing with domestic violence. in the sixth month of June 2003, the government enacted the ‘Safety and Justice: The Government Proposals on Domestic Violence (Wagstaff 2008). This was meant to make clear the role of the government in combating domestic violence at the local level. The government also engaged pro-actively at the local level to deal with the menace. The policy, however, was amended in 2005 to strengthen the government’s commitment to address domestic violence. The amendment narrowed the goals to three as prevention, protection and justice (MatcZack, Hatzidiritiadou, and Lindsay 2011). In addition, the government showed a commitment in supporting victims of both physical and sexual abuse.

The government, in its commitment to protect children from harm and abuse, enacted the children’s Act 1989, which was later repealed in 2004. The aim of this legislation was to prevent children from harm, as well as, to take care of children from families that broke as a result of family violence. The act appears to have been enacted in the same year with the UN Convention provisions on the rights of a child (1989). It borrows heavily from the UN charter. A report by the Department of Education and skills (2005) reveals that this legislation went a long way in protecting the chances of children, especially those who found themselves endangered by circumstances. The report found that, even though there were various stumbling blocks in implementing the legislation, its advantages far outweighed the effect of the challenges met.

Some recent developments were made to show commitment of the UK government in fighting domestic violence. In the year 2005, the ‘Domestic Violence: A National Report (MatcZack, HatzidiritiadouAgainst Women and Girls’ (MatcZack, Hatzidiritiadou, and Lindsay 2011). However, this policy was criticized in that it left the male gender out of the bracket of domestic violence. This led to an amendment of the policy in the year 2008, in order to including men and women in the bract of domestic violence. The series of repeals shows the attempts of the government in combating domestic violence. However, the weakness is seen in that implementation was ineffective, and that some groups were not considered by the laws.

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