Domestic violence is more harmful than expected for children

Problem families have to deal with violence more than once a week, on average 71 times a year. Research by the Verwey-Jonker Institute shows that domestic violence is much more intense than expected. The consequences for children also appear to be greater.

In more than half of the cases, children are not only witnessing violence between parents, but also victims themselves. On average, this happens once a month. In most cases it involves psychological violence such as humiliation, abuse or threats. Physical abuse of children occurs in one third of cases.

"It is the first time that such a measurement is done on a large scale, but it is really disappointing," says a spokesperson. "There are more incidents than expected, the consequences are more serious and the impact lasts longer - it is more intense than expected."

Because of violence, children from problem families more often than others suffer from traumatic complaints, such as depression, anxiety or PTSD. Children also experience emotional insecurity and bonding with parents is difficult. Because of the psychological damage, children can react violently, for example with flight behavior or just rebellion.

Poverty, unemployment, alcohol
The researchers emphasize that domestic violence can occur in all sections of the population, but they do see that it is more common in poorer families. Almost half of the followed families have an income of less than 1500 euros per month.

Unemployment and alcohol use also play a role. More than half of the families were struggling with unemployment, against 5 percent in the rest of society. More than 40 percent of men and over 30 percent of women also had an alcohol problem.

In addition, the researchers noticed that many parents who deal with domestic violence were themselves victims of this in the past (44 percent). "There is a vicious circle that can only be broken with good and appropriate help to children and parents", they conclude.

Further results
The research was conducted among nearly 1,100 families with children aged between 3 and 18 years. They were registered in more than 100 municipalities at the Safe Home support center.

The Verwey-Jonker Institute will in the future investigate the type of violence and the quality of the assistance. The research will continue until 2021.