New Study Reveals What Helps Survivors Recover From Partner Violence

From intimidation to physical abuse and everything in between. All these forms of violence can occur within the home. When they do, we refer to this as domestic violence.

Every year, more than one million people in the Netherlands aged 16 and over experience domestic violence. This type of violence is often perpetrated by a current or former partner, in which case it is referred to as intimate partner violence.

Use of domestic violence shelters

Sometimes, the violence becomes so severe that a person's own home is no longer safe. In such cases, they may seek refuge in a domestic violence shelter. Although these are traditionally known in the Netherlands as women's shelters, they do not exclusively accommodate women. Men and children can stay there too.

Around 6,000 people seek refuge in these shelters each year. They include almost 3,000 women, nearly as many children and around 140 men (2023 figures). This means that many children stay in these shelters together with their mothers.

Why treatment in domestic violence shelters is important

For her PhD research, Willemien van den Dorpel, of the Institute of Education and Child Studies, and her colleagues followed 52 women and their young children, aged between zero and six, who were staying in domestic violence shelters. They followed the families for 13 weeks. Van den Dorpel will defend her PhD dissertation on 29 September 2026.

What did they want to find out? 'We wanted to know what type of treatment works for parents who end up in a domestic violence shelter with their children after experiencing intimate partner violence. This is because there are still very few interventions with proven effectiveness for this specific group.'

The effects of intimate partner violence

And yet these parents and their children need all the support they can get. Research shows that intimate partner violence can be a highly traumatic experience for both parents and children.

It increases the risk of developing symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as other mental health problems. Parents may also experience difficulties in parenting their children after experiencing intimate partner violence.

Intimate partner violence and parenting behaviour

Van den Dorpel's study shows that the mothers who participated did indeed experience PTSD symptoms at above-average rates.

'The analyses also showed relatively high levels of insensitive and disrupted parenting behaviour,' she says.

'Sensitivity refers to a parent's ability to recognise their child's signals, interpret them correctly and then respond appropriately. When a parent is insensitive, they are less able to do this. And when we talk about disrupted parenting behaviour, we mean active behaviours that may, for example, be frightening or confusing for a child. This could involve repeatedly moving a frightening-looking doll close to a young child's face, or a parent suddenly responding to their child in a very distant or negative way.'

80 precent had themselves experienced child abuse

This does not mean that parents deliberately behave this way. Their behaviour can be almost reflexive, without them being aware of it, for example because they are experiencing mental health problems. They may also have experienced a great deal of fear and confusion during their own childhood.

'Of all the mothers who took part in the study, 80 percent had themselves experienced some form of child abuse during childhood,' says Van den Dorpel.

No standard treatment plan yet

But if the problems are so serious, why is there no tried-and-tested treatment yet?

There are several reasons. Parents often already have a huge amount to deal with, which can make it difficult to start treatment in the first place.

'They haven't ended up in a domestic violence shelter for no reason. There are often extremely complex problems involved. The violent ex-partner may suddenly reappear, for example. These parents also often have many appointments with other professionals, perhaps because they are dealing with legal or financial problems. As a consequence of the intimate partner violence, some people may not have access to their own bank account, may have substantial debts or may be involved in legal proceedings with their ex-partner.'

'Alongside all the mental health problems, this creates even more stress and, of course, a very full schedule,' Van den Dorpel explains.

Wet als hindernis

This web of complex circumstances can also make it difficult for professionals to assess what a parent can cope with and what kind of support they need. For parents, meanwhile, it can be challenging to continue treatment alongside all their other appointments during such a stressful period. As a result, parents and children may end up receiving no treatment for their mental health difficulties, even though they desperately need it.

There is another obstacle: treatment for conditions such as PTSD is not always reimbursed when a parent is staying in a domestic violence shelter. According to Van den Dorpel, insurers may still consider the situation too unsafe or unstable.

It is also possible that the other parent with parental responsibility, who is often the reason the family is staying in the shelter in the first place, may refuse to consent to a parenting intervention involving the child and the parent staying at the shelter, or to trauma treatment for the child. Existing laws and regulations can therefore also form a barrier.

What can be done

Although the lives of people staying in domestic violence shelters have often been turned upside down and providing treatment may seem difficult, Van den Dorpel's study shows that there are many possibilities.

'During the study, we investigated the effects of NIKA and EMDR therapy on the symptoms experienced by parents and their children. We found that both interventions reduced symptoms.'

What NIKA does

Parents who participated in the study first received NIKA, which stands for Nederlandse Interventie Kortdurend op Atypisch opvoedgedrag, a Dutch short-term intervention targeting atypical parenting behaviour. The intervention is designed to help parents adapt their parenting behaviour more closely to their child's needs.

'In the study, this involved five sessions in which the parents were filmed while playing with their child. They then watched the footage together with the therapist and received feedback,' Van den Dorpel explains.

The approach worked. 'Before starting NIKA, parents had an average sensitivity score of four on a scale from one to nine. That is considered insufficiently sensitive. Afterwards, their average score was five, which is considered sensitive. That is a very encouraging result.'

The researchers also observed a reduction in disrupted parenting behaviour following NIKA.

How EMDR therapy helps parents

After NIKA, the parents received trauma treatment using EMDR therapy. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing and is an established method of trauma treatment frequently used by psychologists and other mental health professionals.

The results showed that the mothers' PTSD symptoms decreased substantially following this intervention.

Van den Dorpel explains: 'The participants completed a PTSD questionnaire and initially had an average score of around 50, while 31 is the clinical cut-off score for PTSD. After treatment, the average score was 24.'

Trauma treatment for parents and parenting behaviour

Van den Dorpel also found that treating parents' trauma symptoms did not appear to affect their parenting behaviour. Providing a combination of both treatments in domestic violence shelters would therefore be the ideal situation, she emphasises. In some cases, children also require trauma treatment.

To make it easier for practitioners to determine the most appropriate order of treatment for each parent and child, Van den Dorpel and her colleagues developed practical guidance for professionals.

Breaking the cycle of violence

Van den Dorpel hopes that the guidance will ultimately ensure that more parents and children receive the care they need after intimate partner violence, helping them move towards a more stable and positive life.

'The younger the child, the more of their life they still have ahead of them, and the greater the opportunity to finally break this cycle of violence and trauma.'