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family violence

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FORMS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE:

A common, and frequently unreported, form of abuse is family violence. A child raised in a family where violence is the ‘norm’ will often accept that violence is a normal part of life. The following are some of the forms of family violence.

  • Being hit, yelled at, or otherwise directly abused

  • Being injured

  • Being sexually abused

  • Experiencing fear for self

  • Experiencing fear for another person, a pet, or belongings

  • Seeing, hearing, or otherwise sensing violence directed against another person

  • Seeing, hearing, or otherwise sensing the aftermath of violence (such as broken furniture, smashed crockery, or an atmosphere of tension)

  • Knowing or sensing that a family member is in fear

  • Being told to do something (such as to be quiet or to ‘behave’) to prevent violence

  • Being blamed for not preventing violence

  • Attempting to prevent or minimise violence

  • Attempting to mediate between the perpetrator and another family member

  • Being threatened or co-opted by the perpetrator into using violent behaviour against another family member

  • Being co-opted into supporting the perpetrator or taking their side

  • being isolated or socially marginalised in ways that are directly attributable to the perpetrator’s controlling behaviours.

PHYSICAL SIGNS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE

  • Speech disorders

  • Delays in physical development

  • Failure to thrive (without an organic cause)

  • Bruises, cuts, or welts on facial areas, and other parts of the body including back, bottom, legs, arms or inner thighs

  • Any bruises or welts (old or new) in unusual configurations

  • Any bruises or welts that look like the object used to make the injury (such as fingerprints, handprints, buckles, iron, or teeth)

  • fractured bones, especially in an infant where a fracture is unlikely to have occurred accidentally

  • Internal injuries.

  • Poisoning

BEHAVIOURAL SIGNS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE

  • Violent or aggressive behaviour and language

  • Depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts

  • Appearing nervous and withdrawn (e.g. wariness or distrust of adults)

  • Difficulty adjusting to change

  • Psychosomatic illness

  • Bedwetting or sleeping disorders

  • ‘Acting out’, such as cruelty to animals

  • Extremely demanding, attention-seeking behaviour

  • Participating in dangerous risk-taking behaviours to impress peers

  • Overly compliant, shy, withdrawn, passive, and uncommunicative

  • Taking on a caretaker role prematurely, or trying to protect other family members

  • Embarrassment about family

  • Demonstrated fear of parents, carers, or guardians, and of going home

  • Disengagement from school (absenteeism, lateness, school refusal) or poor academic outcomes

  • Parent-child conflict

  • Wearing long-sleeved clothes on hot days in an attempt to hide bruising or another injury

  • Becoming fearful when other children cry or shout

  • Being excessively friendly to strangers.

SIGNS FOR OLDER CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE:

  • Moving away

  • Running away from home

  • Entering a relationship early to escape the family home

  • Entering into other violent or unsafe relationships

  • Involvement in risk-taking activities

  • Involvement in unlawful activities

  • Alcohol and substance misuse.

SIGNS FOR WIVES AND PARTNERS OF ABUSERS:

  • Nervous, ashamed or evasive behaviour

  • Describing their partner as controlling or prone to anger

  • Appearing to be uncomfortable or anxious in their presence

  • Always accompanied by partner and doesn’t talk

  • Having physical signs of violence, such as bruising

  • Unconvincing explanations of injuries they and/or child sustained

  • Suffering anxiety, panic attacks, stress, or depression.