Domestic violence is a social disruption in a community that plays critical role to distress kids internally and withdraw other people. The kids might face internal and external challenges and subsequent changes in their behavior and psychology that create exposure by causing harm to emotional and physical development. Domestic violence means an aggressive behavior within a home by involving abusive comments, sexual harassment and physical harm with spouse or partner.

However, after the pandemic outbreak and lockdown policies, the cases of domestic violence have inclined with a boost as most of the parent were working via working from home. In Australia 1 out 4 children get exposure from domestic violence which leads to homelessness. Moreover, kids were schooling their learning from home who normally get disturbed due to the external family environment.

Kids has got expose as victim and survivor from domestic violence as it does not provide safest option. Around 1 out 3 women face domestic violence during Covid-19. The negative parental experience at the early age would create hatred and create greater level of risk in their future relationship.

The article will expose the consequences and impact of domestic violence on kid due parental misbehave and abusive at home. The domestic violence with kids can result into physical such as aches and temper tantrum and emotional problem with school. The following critical impact can of domestic violence may witnessed by kids.

• Anxiety and Depression: Kids might get into depression and build anxiety while performing normal task. The ongoing domestic violence causes demotivation and impacts psychology which will be difficult to protect the child. The problem of depression can disrupt the social interaction and may avoid sense of belonging in relationship and schooling environment.
• Eating and Sleeping Disturbance: The ongoing domestic violence witnessed by kids may feel guilty and avoid to take meals and sleep during night due to its over-thinking habit. The kids may get attracted towards fearfulness during the eating and sleep that can disturb their digestion and sleeping patterns. It would be difficult for kids to manage stress level and maintain energy to perform day to day activities.
• Low self-esteem: The domestic violence reduces self-esteem as its impacts the psychology level of children. The children may face abusive tone from their parents and face negative comments from the family members that may reduce their initiatives and positivity. The reduction in self-esteem will negatively impact their growth and development opportunity. The passion and taking responsibility to achieve and become self-dependent may be absent.
• Difficulty to form positive relationship: The long-term affect in kids may create negativity to form a relationship with opposite gender or after marriage due to particular perception. The kids who face domestic violence from parental at early age might become rigid and show similar expression and tone of behavior with other people in outside environment such as friends, lovers and colleagues.
• Aggressive and Risk-taking behavior: The physical abuse and domestic violence practices at home with kids can build aggressive attributes and attraction towards heavy risk-taking attitude. The kids may show lack of sympathy and may influence negative impact on their attitude. For example, the kid might misbehave or show aggressive attitude with the people who tries to sympathies and show supportive attitude.
• Homelessness: The domestic or family violence may lead to homelessness of children. Around 15 million children in USA exposed from homelessness that has happened at least once. The kid may find leaving their homes due as they may not be capable to hold the domestic violence or find other solutions.

Impact of Domestic violence on kid by Age

• In Utero child: An unborn child may face negative influence from the domestic violence as it causes injuries and wombat the mother’s abdomen. During the Covid-19, 35.2% pregnant women experienced domestic violence. The mother may use drug or alcohol to address stress that may expose suffering for kids in the long-term.
• Babies: Due to the domestic violence, the infant baby may feel difficult to build connection and develop attachment with parents in extreme case suffering from failure to thrive. It may face difficulty to gain physical growth and face emotional disturbance. It may involve crying, thumb-sucking, bed wetting and whining.
• Preschool: The preschool kid would develop and may suffer from the gaining sense of belonging and building friendship with others. It may also cause learning, sleep and eating disturbances. It indicates sign of terror and may show fear of separation of parents, anxiety and hiding personal things from parents.
• School-aged: The kids may witness exposure from the domestic violence as it may struggle to build relationship with peers and develop academic performance and gain emotional stability. For example, a kid may find de-growth in examination test, or remembering chapters and participate in cultural festival. The kid may feel guilty due to the blaming themselves and hurting their self-esteem. It would negative impact and create physical issues with headache and stomach problems.
• Teen: The teen from the age between 13 to 18 years may witness domestic violence in different ways such as verbal or physical fight with family members. They may get attracted towards skipping schooling and ignoring studies. It may showcase risky behavior such as using alcohol and drugs and bullying other people. However, the girls experience more depression than boys. A kid might risk their life by misusing life or become victim of dating violence practices.

How to recover against domestic violence?

• Good support system: The parents and outer world should provide better support system through financial and non-financial relationship to build trust and show caring nature. Several NGO and government should initiate to strengthen the law and operate cultural environment. The kid may require emotional support, sympathy and caring nature to recognize issues and address challenges such as homelessness.
• High Self-esteem: The domestic violence challenge can be overcome by boosting self-esteem of children. It can initiate to provide sense of belonging, increasing social activities, nurture giving back attitude and build positivity. It would require to solve distress by overcoming the attitude of distress through teachers and parents who can provide sense of trust and friendship nature.
• Healthy Friendship: The kid requires social belonging and communal support which can build with healthy friendship and sustainable communication. It would allow to recognize issue and determine the need to solve challenges. For example, the NGO and government can provide helpline number and chat support system to interact and report problems.
• Provide professional help: Most of domestic violence issues in kids cannot be easily forgettable that may require cognitive behavioral therapy by consulting or talking with doctors for counselling. It would help kids to overcome the anxiety and reduce stress. The CBT therapy can turn trauma or negative thoughts into positive one.
• Deliver Comfort: Kids that gone through domestic violence requires to provide safety and security by guiding them over the importance of healthy relationship. It becomes crucial to listen and talk about their issues and get interact with school counsellor, trusted person and therapist to work on providing reliable support.

It is likely that with male kid who witness domestic violence with their mother may follow same pattern to react outwardly by becoming aggressive and disobedient. The children may sometime face the long-term issues such as nightmare, physical pain, and post traumatic stress disorder.

For example, small boy kids start repeating the pattern of domestic violence in school with their peers and other school friends which creates negative impact on their social behavior. While girls are more distress from inside as they may get depressed by someone touching their body with wrong intention or complain against the vague physical symptoms.

However, the appropriate precaution, reliable support and therapy would overcome the domestic violence impact. Hence, it is important to keep your child safe from the domestic violence and avoid to abuse as it is a crime. If you found the content useful, response in comment section and enjoy our other new blogs.