Type:	Conference Paper
Title:	Advocating for children
Other Titles:	Courageous practice in family violence – a call to action – the 2005 annua
Authors:	Kiro, Cindy
Keywords:	Impact on children and young people;Parenting;Prevention
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Preventing Violence in the Home, [Auckland
Notes:	Presented at the conference by Wendy Davis. This paper looks at the impact violence has on children as victims and witnesses of family violence. It gives some key background statistics: New Zealand (NZ) as having the fifth highest rate of child maltreatment deaths among OECD countries; in 70% of family violence cases, children see or hear the violence; in almost all cases of child murders, the perpetrator is known to the child (a parent or step-parent); New Zealand Police deal with more than 45,000 calls relating to family violence each year; they attended 46,682 incidents of violence in 2002/03; and estimated that almost 55,000 children were present during these incidents. NZ Police have piloted a revamped form (that collects much more information about children and their situation when attending domestic violence incidents) which allows for risk analysis posed to children and follow-up action. They have implemented the Family Safety Teams and new mechanisms at Regional and District levels to ensure coordination with women’s refuges and other groups. The paper also describes how children who witness family violence (or defined as sideline observers) may be harder to identify than child abuse victims as they do not have physical scars of abuse and are less likely to tell their friends or teachers or refer themselves for treatment. Emma Davies’ study showed that parents thought their children were immune to the violence, but these children frequently recalled incidents they were not supposed to have seen or heard. Research has shown that children who witness the battering of their mothers to be as traumatised as children who are direct victims of abuse. The overlap between domestic violence and child abuse is believed to be between 30% and 75%. Men who are abusive to their partners may more likely be physically abusive to their children; and women who are victims may use more punitive parenting strategies. Children may be neglected because their mothers are preoccupied with the violence from their partner or the mothers may suffer from depression. Children living in violent families assume a variety of roles: victim, saviour, counsellor and supporter, and adult roles which rob them of their childhood. It suggests that we need to stop tolerating violence in our society and address the various forms that violence can take, such as, un-sportsman-like behaviour on the playing fields, music, movies, or other media.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/20863
Physical description:	9p
Appears in Collections:	Conference Papers

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