Introduction
At least 119 women were murdered in Washington State by their current or former partner between the year 1997 and 2001. In that same time span, abusers killed at least 17 children in the context of violence towards their partner. (Star, 2008).
Domestic violence can be defined as violent or aggressive behavior, mostly towards a spouse at home. Contrary to popular belief, domestic violence is not caused by anger, alcohol/drug abuse, frustration or stress, but by the desire to maintain dominance over an intimate partner. Following are the effects of domestic violence on children and teenagers.
Effects on Early Development
According to Morse and Wiley (1997), children undergo metal development in the first 33 months of their lives.
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For most kids and young adults, the only thing they truly have control of in their lives it feeding. As a sign of protest against the inhumane treatment of a parent they dearly love, these young ones can willingly refuse to feed. They use this strategy to rebel towards the perpetrators of domestic violence, which in-turn can lead to serious health issues including but not limited to eating disorders such as anorexia, where they intentionally starve themselves hoping to disappear, or obesity which could be caused by binge stress …show more content…
While speaking at the Children’s Justice Conference in Bellevue, Washington in 2004, Lundy also noted that offenders often stop mothers from catering to the children’s need, refusing a mum to even pick up a crying baby. Abusers also have a distorted and unreasonable understanding of the children’s maturity levels.
In some cases, children develop extreme anger, guilt, self-blame and shame. This is because they feel powerless and angry as they can’t seem to understand, much less stop the violence. Some children even believe they are the cause of the turmoil going on between the parents. This bitterness leads to feelings of self-loathing and thinking that the world would be a much better place if they were never born. Such children often suffer from developmental regression and inability to form social relationships with peers, parents, teacher or