Page 4200 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 24 October 2018

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(a) accept recommendation five of the DVCP report, regarding better collecting and using data and evidence to inform domestic and family violence strategies for children and young people;

(b) commit to taking steps before the end of the 2018–19 financial year to begin implementing this recommendation; and

In recent years, the attention of those who research and work in the area of domestic and family violence has increasingly turned to children. Children and young people may be directly affected by violence in the home, as victims or, in many more cases, as witnesses to the violence.

Importantly, children who witness violence experience the same level of negative psychosocial outcomes as children who directly experience physical abuse. In fact, those who merely overhear family violence without ever having seen any actual acts of violence still experience the same trauma. For this reason it is best to refer to young people who have been affected by violence as this term acknowledges that all children may be impacted by the presence of domestic violence in their family, regardless of the nature of the violence.

Several extensive reviews of published research have established that children and young people who are affected by domestic and family violence may experience significant negative impacts on their physical, emotional, social, behavioural, developmental and/or cognitive wellbeing and functioning. These impacts may manifest in a large number of ways: antisocial behaviours, anxiety, depression, poor concentration, delayed language acquisition, eating problems, social withdrawal, sleeplessness, and so many more.

Children who are affected by violence in the home often struggle at school. It affects not just their behaviour and mental states but also their capacity to learn. In one study, children whose parents had reported intimate partner violence were found to have performed on average 12.2 percentile points lower than their peers.

The negative impacts of domestic and family violence on children and young people are too often compounded by the disruptions to stable home life that this violence often causes. When non-offending parents and their children find it necessary to physically flee the violence, this may certainly result in an increased sense of personal safety, but it can also result in a sense of loss and grief for the children who are separated from family members, friends, pets and schools whom they have learned to trust and rely on. It also tends to disrupt the links to community and cultural activities. Research links lack of stability in a child’s life with an increased risk of contact with the youth justice system, an increased risk of future homelessness and an increased risk of future unemployment.

The effects of domestic and family violence on children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can be compounded by a number of factors. These include language and cultural barriers. In addition, the experience of

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