Page 4205 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 24 October 2018
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(c) several extensive reviews of published research have found that children who are affected by domestic and family violence experience significant negative impacts to their physical, emotional, social, behavioural, developmental and/or cognitive wellbeing and functioning;
(d) these impacts may include irritability, sleep problems, fear of being alone, poor language development, impaired concentration, aggressiveness, antisocial behaviours, anxiety, depression, eating problems, low frustration tolerance, low academic performance, and being passive or withdrawn, amongst others;
(e) these impacts are frequently compounded by unstable living arrangements as a result of fleeing the violence, leading to disruptions in home life, school, relationships with friends, and relationships with primary caregivers;
(f) the effects of domestic and family violence on culturally and linguistically diverse children can be further compounded by cultural and linguistic barriers as well as by discrimination and racism; and
(g) research suggests that children affected by domestic and family violence are more likely to become victims of domestic and family violence as adults and may also be at increased risk of perpetrating such violence;
(2) further notes that:
(a) in 2016, the ACT Government established a new Safer Families Levy to fund $21.42 million of new initiatives to tackle domestic and family violence including the establishment of a Coordinator General for Family Safety;
(b) the Family Safety Hub was launched in May 2018 following a co-design process involving government, non-government, front line and policy workers, and people with lived experience;
(c) the first Family Safety Hub challenge took place focusing on prevention and early intervention of domestic and family violence for pregnant women and new parents;
(d) on 4 April 2018, the Domestic Violence Prevention Council (DVPC) held an Extraordinary Meeting to discuss the needs of children and young people affected by family and domestic violence, including sexual assault. This meeting was attended by Ministers, Directors-General, senior public servants, CEOs and leaders of community organisations, a range of stakeholders and people with a lived experience of violence;
(e) on 12 October 2018, the DVPC and the ACT Government jointly released the report summarising the findings of the extraordinary meeting;
(f) this report acknowledges that ‘children witnessing and experiencing family and domestic violence have special needs, in addition to the needs of the adults around them’;
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