Exposure to domestic abuse hurts children as well as adults.

Children are present in 40-55% of homes where police interven in domestic violence calls.
63% of juveniles charged with murder are there for killing an abusive father, step-father, or mother's live-in boyfriend in an attempt to protect their mother.
Abuse or neglect as a child increases the risk of arrest as a juvenile by 53%, as an adult by 38%, and increases the risk of arrest for a violent crime by 38% It is estimated that 10 million children are exposed to marital violence every year (National Family Violence Survey, Murray Straus, 1991).

Some other effects that domestic abuse can have on children include:
-Anxiety about being hurt or killed
-Fighting with others
-Temper tantrums
-Suicide attempts
-Substance abuse
-Eating Disorders
-Bed-wetting or regression to earlier developmental stages
-Overachieving

Children in homes where doemstic abuse occurs are getting the message that violence is an acceptable response to anger and conflict resolution.
Children from violent homes learn that it is alright to hurt the ones that you care about.
The effects of being raised in an abusive home may be visible right away or may surface later in life.

Children can be exposed to domestic violence in many ways.
They may watch the assault, hear the violence, see the consequences of the violence (injuries to a parent, a hole punched in the wall, overturned furniture, etc…), may sense the tension, or may generally feel unsafe at home.
Children that are exposed to domestic violence are also at increased risk of being victimized in other ways as well. They are at risk of being physically abused by one or both parents.

Children in homes where domestic violence occurs may indirectly receive injuries.
They may be hurt when household items are thrown or weapons are used.
Infants may be injured if they are being held by their parent when the batterer strikes that parent.

Children also learn to develop coping tactics in order for them to survive in a household where there is domestic abuse.
Some of these unhealthy coping tactics include: acting out, role reversing, controlling, under-achieving, withdrawing, escaping, regressing, escaping, and over-achieving.
These coping behaviors can be addressed by stopping the violence, and by counselors working with children to develop healthier coping tactics.

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