Children and young people EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC ABUSE: Guidance Note for Planners
2 Nature and Extent of the Problem
This section provides information for local children's services planning partners about the extent and seriousness of the difficulties facing CYPEDA 2 in Scotland.
The National Strategy (Scottish Executive: 2000) estimated that a quarter to a third of all women in Scotland will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives. While no precise figures exist about the number of CYPEDA in Scotland, extrapolating from what is known about women, it can be assumed that it is extensive (Mullender et al 2002); somewhere in the region of 100,000 children (Scottish Executive: 2001). The National Strategy also highlighted the difficulties faced by children living in situations where mothers are being abused:
It must be recognised that children are witness to and subjected to much of this abuse and there is some correlation between domestic abuse and the mental, physical and sexual abuse of children (Scottish Executive: 2000).
The 2002 Audit and Review of Child Protection highlighted some of the likely effects and implications for children living in households where there is domestic abuse:
'In addition to the emotional impact of living in an atmosphere of violence, there is also evidence to suggest that men who abuse their partners may also abuse their children, or force them to participate in the abuse of their mothers. Children often try to protect their mothers from physical assaults and may be injured themselves as a result. Children living with domestic abuse may suffer from stress-related illnesses and conditions and experience feelings of guilt, shame, anger, fear and helplessness' (Scottish Executive: 2002).
Children in this situation have varying experiences and different kinds of difficulties. This has implications for planners in needing to ensure there is a range of services in place to meet the needs of children facing different levels of difficulty and trauma.
