To demonstrate how family violence has become one of the most complex and tenacious social problems in the United States, this article will portray how profound the effects of such violence can be for children. The most compelling issues engulfing child victims are the emotional and developmental consequences caused by exposure to domestic violence, the lethal combination of child abuse and domestic violence, and children who are violent or kill as a result of family violence. Not all children are affected by family violence in the same way. People need to realize that children are vulnerable from the moment they are born. Every citizen can make a difference.
Many people assume that infants and children are too young to understand domestic violence.
Although most parents believe that they can hide family violence from their children, the truth is children living with this violence react differently. Even if they don't witness the violence directly, they hear the screams, see the bruises and broken bones, and they are affected in a number of ways that have potentially grave consequences for the safety and well being of the child. It is difficult to imagine that anyone would intentionally inflict physical or emotional harm on his or her own child. But the fact is that it happens all too often. While exact numbers are not available, it is clear that each year hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of children witness domestic violence and are present in many domestic violence incidents to which police agencies respond.