For the child who witnesses violence or experiences abuse, the outcomes are devastating. Responses of children include shame, guilt, self-blame, grief, confusion, psychic numbing, fear, anger, depression, acting out, poor academic performance and learning disabilities. Damage caused by abuse to women and children in society should be measured in terms of human suffering and lost potential. Children are more likely to drop out of school at an early age. Adolescents frequently develop eating disorders and substance abuse problems, and they are prone to delinquency.
Children are six times more likely to commit suicide.
Witnessing violence in the home can be as traumatic for children as being the victim of physical, verbal or sexual abuse. Approximately one-third of child witnesses develop post traumatic stress disorder. Young criminal offenders are four times more likely to come from abusive homes. They are 60 times more likely to engage in delinquent behavior as adults. Ninety-five percent of boys and 73 percent of girls who witness domestic violence will carry abuse into their own relationships, continuing the cycle of violence.