A national child protection organisation is calling for greater recognition of the profound harm domestic and family violence (DFV) causes children, urging they be recognised as victim-survivors in their own right, not just witnesses.
Act for Kids' call for greater understanding has received strong support from leading Queensland DFV prevention advocate Ruby Allen, whose personal experience has shaped a deep commitment to the cause.
It is further backed by a survey* which found 90% of specialist domestic and family violence practitioners said the harm DFV causes children was not universally recognised in society.
Act for Kids Executive Director Tom McIntyre said children who experienced DFV were more likely to have emotional and behavioural problems in childhood, adolescence and adulthood than children who had not experienced it.
"DFV can lead to long-term trauma in children, which can show up in schools, the healthcare system and in the relationships young people make in the community," Mr McIntyre said.
"We need to ensure the voices of young people are heard and recognised, and to bring about healing, we need to address the effects on children and young people who experience DFV.
"All too often children who experience these horrific crimes are described as 'witnesses' to this violence, which fails to recognise and convey the real harm and trauma they experience."
Advocate and law student Ruby Allen said the lack of support and information for children like herself who had experienced DFV prompted her to create a website offering these resources, Kids of Purple.
"Treating children as invisible in situations of domestic and family violence teaches kids that their feelings of fear, of isolation, of pain, do not matter unless they are the 'primary' target of abuse," Ms Allen said.
"To truly recognise children as victim-survivors in their own right, we have to be asking young people what they need and ensuring support services are tailored to recognise that."
This Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month (May 1 to 31), Act for Kids is calling for increased investment in education and trauma-informed therapeutic interventions that focus on addressing the specific trauma experienced by child victim-survivors of DFV.
Act for Kids offers a specialised Safe Families program, which takes a multigenerational approach to address the complex issues of DFV and works with the whole family.
