For children experiencing Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV), the impact is not minimal or temporary. They are not merely passive witnesses but true casualties of these incidents, which can profoundly effect their physical health, mental health, behavior, and/or relationships.
Yet, in another article about a high-profile domestic violence incident, once again CDV is almost entirely left out. Only 12 generic words acknowledge the children in the home, “Several children were at the home at the time of the incident”. The impact they face is very real & dire, as we know from decades of research, yet another high-profile article fails to recognize and properly note that significant impact.
In this article, Kansas City Chiefs NT Roy Miller is charged with brutally abusing his wife, in the presence of “several children”. It is likely that these children have experienced CDV before in that home, as this type of occurrence is more often then to not an isolated incident. And the impact it carries with it is often severe and lasting. Yet, the article barely acknowledges the children present, again reaffirming how obscure, unknown, unrecognized, and dismissed Childhood Domestic Violence (CDV) and its profound impact on a life still are in our society.
With less than 15% awareness of CDV, we need to continue to shine the light. Awareness is key because awareness itself is curative.
Read the article here.