Fifty four percent of these abductions are short-term manipulations around custody orders, but 46 percent involve concealing the whereabouts of the child or taking the child out of state. Most of these abductions are perpetrated by fathers or their agents. Fully 41 percent occur between the separation of the parents and the divorce. Yet another 41 percent happen after the parents are separated or divorced for more than two years. Observation of violence against mothers.
Boys become aggressive, fighting with siblings and schoolmates and having temper tantrums.
Research has only begun to examine the relative effects on children of witnessing parental violence as contrasted to being a victim of child abuse. It appears that children who are both witnesses of their fathers' violence toward their mothers and victims of child abuse experience the most profound adverse effects. Many professionals believe that the most effective thing that a battered mother can do to protect her children is to leave the battering husband. As a culture, we believe that if women leave, they will be safe, as will their children. Leave-taking alone does not protect battered women and children.