violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

“Some of our parents fight in front of us, causing us a lot of pain and distress. Some of our parentsalways come back home drunk and do not care for our physical, emotional and nutritional needs. Somechildren are looking after their parents and siblings because their parents are not responsible.”Child, Eastern and Southern Africa, 2005 X70Violence against children in the home and familythat they might be silenced or lose essentialsupport. 141 Orphanhood can also increase therisk of violence in community settings.Exposure to intimate partner violence in thehome: It is estimated that 133 to 275 millionchildren witness violence between their parents/carersannually on a frequent basis, usuallyfights between parents, or between their motherand partner (see Table 3.2). 142 Children canbe psychologically and emotionally damagedby witnessing violence against another familymember. 143 Evidence from a range of studiesshows that witnessing of this violence over along period of time can severely affect a child’swell-being, personal development and socialinteractions both in childhood and adulthood;such children may exhibit the same behaviouraland psychological disturbances as those who aredirectly exposed to violence (see below). 144,145,146Violence against women in the home often islinked with violence against children; in theUSA, inter-partner violence (also known asdomestic violence) may be the most importantprecursor to child maltreatment fatalities. 147The same association has been observed in avariety of geographically and culturally distinctsettings and countries: in China, Colombia,Egypt, India, Mexico, the Philippines, andSouth Africa a strong relationship betweenthese two forms of violence has been found. 148In one study from India, inter-partner violencein the home doubled the risk of direct violenceagainst children in the household. 149 Childrenliving in circumstances of inter-partner violenceamong parents/caregivers in their homeare not only at risk of physical violence themselves,but may suffer psychological and emotionaldisturbances; without intervention theymay go on to be future perpetrators or victimsof violence. 150,151Since they spend more time at home, childrenin the early years – when they are mostsubject to influence by external factors andliable to be more overwhelmed by fear – are atparticular risk of witnessing intimate partnerviolence. Such children may also learn powerfullessons about aggression in interpersonalrelationships which they carry with them intotheir future. Child development specialistssuggest that hostile styles of behaviour, emotionalregulation and the capacity for personalconflict resolution are shaped by parent–childand inter-parental relationships. 153 However,not all children who grow up in violent homessuffer long-lasting consequences; given support,children have remarkable capacities forcoping, and resilience in the face of violence.Societal and cultural factorsLegal and policy framework: Weak legalframeworks contribute both directly and indirectlyto family violence against children. Thelaws of some countries still condone, eitherexplicitly or implicitly as a result of interpretation,some level of violence against childrenif it is inflicted by the child’s own parents orguardians as a means of behavioural correction.Many countries lack legal protectionagainst harmful traditional practices and childmarriage, and in some countries laws againstchild sexual abuse apply only to men’s sexualviolence against girls or may not address sexualviolence against children by family members.