Worrying New Research Published By Abuse Charity

Around half of children living in homes where domestic violence occurs are not on the radar of social services, according to new research issued by charity Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse.

According to the Guardian, the study revealed that eight out of ten youngsters may be known to one public agency, but a smaller amount were not known to social care services operated by local authorities.

The research based on evidence from more than 800 children revealed that 62 per cent of such children had experienced physical or emotional abuse, or neglect. In addition, 18 per cent had been injured during attacks aimed at another person.

It also suggested that around one in four children affected by such problems go on to display abusive behaviour.

Diana Barran, chief executive of Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse, said there needed to be an “urgent shift in approach” from agencies leading to a “proactive genuinely joint response.”

She added: “Because child protection services and adult domestic abuse services tend to work in their own 'silos', the dangers to children exposed to domestic abuse just aren't visible enough to local authority children's social care.”

Expert Opinion

These are very alarming figures which demonstrate that, worryingly, current data on levels of physical and psychological abuse suffered by youngsters may only be the tip of the iceberg. <br/> <br/>"It is absolutely vital that steps are taken to examine how coordination between the police, social care services and other agencies can be improved to provide an overall better service to the young people they are tasked with safeguarding. <br/> <br/>"Sadly, through our work we see a number of cases where people have been affected by domestic violence, seeing first-hand the consequences this has on relationships across a family. <br/> <br/>"The long-term effects of such problems can be immeasurable and we would urge anyone affected by the issue to seek advice and support as soon as possible."