Affects of domestic violence on children's behavior

Within the scope of my job as the Youth Programs Coordinator at the YWCA I work with over 560 unduplicated youth each year. The majority of the children I work with on a regular basis are struggling with the after math of witnessing first hand domestic violence in their house holds. Working with these children’s parents, teachers, counselors and social workers have showed me how their exposure to this violence is detrimental to their successful development.

According to the Alabama coalition against domestic violence each year over 3 million youth in the United States experience domestic violence on some level, the negative affects of domestic violence on children are broad but tend to fall into four generalized categories; emotional, social, behavioral and physical. (To find a detailed list of these negative effects see the Alabama coalition against domestic violence website http://www.acadv.org/children.html)

In the past 10 years social service providers along with local police departments and government agencies have rewritten domestic violence laws, provided federal money to crisis service centers, and raised awareness of domestic violence and how it affects not only the woman being abused but her children as well. New Hampshire is in the fore front of these changes and has a tight knit community of agencies who work with these women and children to get them the services they need. If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic violence the NH coalition against domestic and sexual violence (http://www.nhcadsv.org/index.cfm) has the resources and tools needed to get the services you are looking for.