Domestic abuse does not have to be physical violence. It is any type of controlling, bullying, threatening or violent behaviour between people in a relationship.
There were over two million adult victims of domestic violence in 2019-2020 with around one in five children witnessing domestic abuse.
Exposure to domestic abuse is child abuse. It can have a significant impact on a child's development, health and wellbeing. Children never just 'witness' domestic abuse.
Some young people may find it hard to identify domestic abuse having normalised this behaviour. They may have started to copy behaviours they've witnessed in their home becoming abusers themselves.
Resources and support services
- The Education People have produced guidance on the definition of domestic abuse, signs to look out for and more information on local support.
- The National Association of Head Teachers with support from the PSHE Association, has produced guidance for schools to help them review, develop and improve their approaches to preventing and responding to peer-on-peer sexual harassment and violence, including online.
- The Kent Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (KIDAS) offer a person-centred, holistic range of support services to victims and their families in Kent with e-resources to support this work including a presentation on domestic abuse.
- The Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Service provides advice and information on services for victims, friends and family, and perpetrators of domestic abuse in Kent and Medway.
- The Oasis Domestic Abuse Service offers support for children and young people who have been affected by domestic violence in east Kent, Medway and north Kent.
- The Domestic Abuse Volunteer Support Service (DAVSS) is a charity in west Kent supporting men and women experiencing domestic abuse.
- The BeFree Positive Relationships Service is for 10 to 18-year-old girls, including transgender women, living in Kent, who are at risk of experiencing unhealthy or abusive relationships. They aim to deliver non-stigmatising relationship and sex education, to build emotional health and resilience and to empower young people to make informed choices about their relationships. Parents, professionals or the young person themselves can refer in.
- iCAN is a trauma informed programme which focuses on boys aged 13-16 who have disengaged from their communities. This could be because they live, or have lived, in a home that lacks stability, have been traumatised by domestic abuse or have unhealthy relationships with their peers or families.
- Ask for ANI and Safe Spaces schemes: training toolkit