1. Introduction
1. The Parliamentary Assembly took an active part in
the Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women,
Including Domestic Violence (2006-08). It also attentively observes
the current activities of the Ad hoc Committee on Preventing and
Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CAHVIO) and
supports the preparation of a Council of Europe “framework convention
on the severest and most widespread forms of violence against women”.
2. The extent of the problem has been measured through national
surveys in some of the member states. Approximately one fifth to
one quarter of all women are estimated to have experienced physical
violence at least once during their adult lives. The consequences
of violence against women in the Council of Europe geographical
area are huge. The pain, suffering and the human and emotional costs
are hard to measure. But there are also financial consequences estimated
to be at least €33 billion a year.
3. Every year many children are exposed, directly or indirectly,
to violence within the family. Although the most common scene is
a woman being abused by a man, the roles can be reversed. Same-sexed
relations can be abusive; a man can abuse a man and a woman a woman.
In this memorandum, the focus is on children who witness violence
against women.
2. Violence
against women witnessed by children
4. More than one tenth of women have suffered sexual
violence involving the use of force.
The
majority of the violence is conducted by a man in the woman’s immediate
social environment, often a partner or an ex-partner. Prevalence
studies in Europe show that about 12% to 15% of all women have been
in a relationship of domestic abuse after the age of 16, and many
more continue to suffer physical and sexual violence once they are
separated from the perpetrator.
5. When a mother is abused her children are usually witnesses.
The reactions and feelings of the child may be as strong as or stronger
than the reactions and feelings of a child that is physically abused.
Abused women often insist that their children have been unaware
of the violence against them, but research results reflect a different
picture. Interviews with children staying at women’s shelters with
their mothers show that a great majority of children had been present
when violent acts were committed. All the children had witnessed
mental cruelty against their mother.
6. In a study conducted in women’s shelters in Göteborg, Sweden:
- 95% of the children had been
at home during the abuse of the mother;
- 77% had been in the same room as their mother during the
abuse;
- 45% of the children had been in physical contact with
one or both of the parents during the abuse, some of them in an
effort to stop the abuse, some of them cuddled up in the mothers
arms;
- 62% of the children had themselves been subjected to physical
violence by the man who abused their mother, 25% had been subjected
to serious and repeated violence.
7. Violence can be witnessed in many different ways. Many children
actively protect their mother with their bodies or by attacking
the abusive man. Not infrequently, they themselves are battered
as a result. Other children are horrified bystanders. Some children
witness violence indirectly, by seeing the mother’s fear of the offender
or by being confronted with bruises and black eyes. Living in a
family where the mother is battered also means being exposed to
the oppression and control which forms the background to the actual
violence. The child witnesses the mother’s horror and the unequal
relationship between the one who batters and the one who gets battered.
8. Figures show that whenever a mother is subjected to violence,
there is a high probability that a child is witnessing this violence.
The high incidence of violence against women gives us a clue to
the number of children living in this painful reality. Every single
child exposed to violence in its home has its own reactions and
needs. But there are common traits. Witnessing violence against
a mother is a form of psychological abuse to a child, with potentially
severe consequences. A lot remains to be done regarding prevention,
detection and support for these children.
3. Domestic violence
as a context for further adversities and child abuse
9. Children in families characterised by chronic and
severe violence are often subjected to other adversities as well.
Parental drug abuse, parental mental illness, a parent in prison,
or social and economic disadvantages can be reasons for violence
as well as results of violence.
10. When a family breaks up due to physical violence, serious
crises are often observed affecting the abused and the abusive partner
as well as their children. Adult members of the family have great
and urgent needs, and parents’ needs may very well overshadow children’s
needs in such situations. Children do not forget violence. To be
exposed to violence against one’s mother is a serious form of mental
cruelty to children, and it leaves its marks.
11. In addition to witnessing domestic violence, many children
are themselves subjected to physical or sexual abuse, neglect or
negligent treatment. Research has proven a
strong
relation between men’s violence against women and physical and sexual
child abuse. The rates of overlap between domestic violence and physical
child abuse vary between 45% and 70% in different studies. That
means that violence against a child’s mother is probably the single
strongest predictor for physical child abuse as there is an increased
risk for sexual abuse of children in families where the mother is
subjected to violence.
4. Impact on parental
capacity
12. A child that grows up in a home with a constant threat
of violence is denied the sense of basic trust and security. This
affects the relationship with both parents. Children may blame their
father for the violence and their mother for the lack of security
and protection. Research shows that many mothers make considerable efforts
to keep their children as safe as possible. Despite that fact, mothers
are often blamed for the lack of security that is the result of
the violence. Observers tend to focus on the mother’s problems rather
than highlighting the violence that has created the problems. The
aggression and unpredictability of the abusive father is generally
the main problem concerning parental capacity.
13. Many abused mothers have their own symptoms due to the chronic
nature of the violence. Many traumatised persons fluctuate between
emotional blunting and overwhelming outbursts of feelings. Violence
to a mother is definitely a risk factorwhere
parenting is concerned.
14. Domestic violence can moreover inflict on the mother’s ability
to develop authority and control over their children. In extreme
cases, children reverse the roles in the family and become controlling
and even abusive towards their mothers. They copy the behaviour
of the abusive male.
5. Impact on child
and adolescent development
15. Most often children do not tell anyone about the
violence at home. They learn that violence is a secret to be kept
within the family. They also learn that adults are allowed to resort
to violence as a means of getting what they want. In many families
violence is never talked about, despite the fact that family members
all experience it together. Parents may carry on as if nothing had
happened, or actively deny the violence in front of their children.
As a result, children go quiet, hide their memories and dare not
even believe in what they have experienced.
16. Children who are exposed to violence between parents are not
mere witnesses in the sense that they are outside observers who
are not affected by the violence. Many of these children live in
constant fear and insecurity. They often take on the responsibility
for the violence, trying to prevent new episodes of violence, and
protecting, comforting and supporting their mothers. The violence
becomes the centre of their lives, the defining conditions of their
childhood.
Children
sense that something is wrong in their home and they are ashamed.
They often feel that they are to blame for the violence. The possibilities
of finding causes are endless. “Maybe mum and dad where quarrelling
about me” or “Perhaps daddy was tired because I woke him when I
had a nightmare.”
17. Violence in the home can jeopardise the developmental process
of children and problems may be carried into adulthood and contribute
to the cycle of adversity and violence. Many children develop symptoms demanding
child psychiatric treatment. Age can make a difference to the visibility
of symptoms and the mode of their expression. Underlying the symptoms
which children develop are strong feelings of terror, fear of death and
fear of losing their mother.
18. Some children have no symptoms at all, but social learning
can have a great effect even on children who do not develop direct
child-psychiatric symptoms. Children who identify with a violent
father can, in addition to imitating his behaviour, learn to manipulate
and coerce others into satisfying their needs. Other children can learn
that submission is the only way of coexisting with others. Difficulties
of social interaction are acquired early on and often become evident
in school and with peers. Studies even show a significant correlation between
being exposed to domestic violence during childhood and psychological
and social problems later in life, such as depression, symptoms
of trauma and abuse of alcohol and drugs. Adults who have experienced violence
during childhood are also at greater risk of being exposed to violence
as adults.
19. Some factors influencing the effect of the trauma on children
are:
- the child’s closeness to the
violence;
- the child’s personality;
- the child’s age when the violence occurs;
- the degree of violence;
- the frequency of violence;
- access to adults who can protect and support the child.
20. The child’s age at the time of experiencing violence is an
important factor when it comes to the impact on the child. Many
children are born into violent settings. It is common that the violence
against the mother starts before or during the pregnancy. Violence
against the mother can have an impact even on the unborn child,
for example through physical trauma to the abdomen. Violence during
pregnancy is a risk for maternal and child health. But during the
pregnancy there is also an opportunity to detect violence as pregnant
women usually see health practitioners.
21. For a small child growing up in a violent home there is nothing
to compare with. It is not until children grow up and get more information
about other families through school and peers that they begin to
realise that something is wrong. A small child is totally dependent
on its caregiver. Hence, for small children it is much more difficult
to understand and process than for schoolchildren and teenagers.
22. Infants and toddlers can be very distressed by loud noises
and visual images associated with violence. During the first years
of life a child needs to build a secure attachment to a caregiver
in order to become a socially competent and adaptive individual.
The attachment between caregiver and child very much relies on the
external circumstances. An insecure home, frequent conflicts, inability
of the parent to protect the child, violence and maltreatment can
be the reasons for an insecure or disoriented attachment.
23. Children exposed to violence and maltreatment develop a number
of different survival strategies.
The strategies
are ways of coping, and can be helpful for the child in a time of
stress or crisis. But if these strategies are used as a general
response to stress they may create new problems. Moreover, if the
source of the problem – the violence and the maltreatment – remains,
society’s interventions will probably fail.
24. Examples of survival strategies that are commonly observed
in children exposed to violence in the home are:
- mental blocking or disconnecting
emotionally includes numbing emotions and blocking thoughts, learning
not to hear, imagining to be somewhere else, but also drinking alcohol
or using drugs;
- making it better through fantasy includes planning revenge,
fantasising about a better life, of being born in another family,
hoping to be rescued by someone else;
- physical avoidance includes leaving the room, leaving
home and even running away from home;
- looking for love (and acceptance) in all the wrong places
includes falling in with bad friends, having sex for the intimacy
and closeness, trying to get pregnant as a teenager;
- taking charge through caretaking includes protecting brothers
and sisters from danger, taking the parental role, taking care of
his or her mother;
- reaching out or crying out for help includes telling a
teacher, a friend or a neighbour, calling the police but also suicidal
gestures, self-injury or getting into fights;
- trying to predict, explain, prevent or control the behaviour
of the abuser includes trying to be a perfect child, to cover up
bad things, and searching for explanations for the violence (for
example, “Mummy made a mistake” or “I have been bad”).
25. Studies have shown that exposed children tend to be more aggressive
and to have more behavioural problems at school. Other possible
effects are depression, suicidal behaviour, anxiety, fears, phobias,
sleep disturbances, tics, bed-wetting and low self-esteem. Impaired
concentration capacity, difficulties at school and lower average
test scores for language, motor skills and thinking capacity are
noted in some studies.
26. Some children are severely traumatised and develop a post-traumatic
stress syndrome that requires specialised treatment. They are not
able to integrate their experiences of violence and are haunted
by their memories and the feelings and thoughts that the memories
awake. Treatment for post-traumatic stress syndrome must give children
an opportunity to describe the violence expressly and in detail.
They need to integrate their experience of the violence with their
understanding of themselves and the world around them.
6. Child protection
and intervention of social services
27. The first and most important step when violence in
a family is detected is to protect the victims:
- the
police needs to be observant and to report children in the home
of abused women to the social services;
- the police and the social services must be observant of
the fact that child physical abuse is much more common when the
mother is abused;
- it is vital that the authorities are well aware of the
detrimental effects on a child caused by violence against the mother;
- when measures to protect the mother are undertaken, the
effects on the child must be assessed;
- it is vital to inform not only the mother, but also the
children involved. Information is necessary so that the child can
feel safe. In many families the abused mother is unable to talk
to her own children about the situation.
28. A second step is to offer children crisis interviews aimed
at listening to their experience and providing information and support.
Crisis interviews can be combined with a preliminary assessment
of symptoms. A third step is to offer psychotherapy to those children
who need it. Treatment for children with post-traumatic stress syndrome
can be provided in many different forms, in a group or individually,
and with a variety of theoretical emphases, but it is highly important
for the therapists to be aware of the special adaptations which
the technique requires when dealing with traumatised children.
29. Almost all Council of Europe member states claim to offer
protection and assistance to children who witness violence. This
contrasts sharply with what is shown by research results, which
imply that within shelters, support for children is dependent on
the mother’s seeking help and the duration of her stay. Outside shelters
support for children is rare.
30. Only a small proportion of the children who have witnessed
violence against their mothers receive any support or crisis intervention.
One reason for this is that the violence most often is a secret
kept within the family; another is that there is a lack of methods
and knowledge regarding how to help children exposed to serious
violence. In shelters there are often as many children as women.
Despite that fact few of them are adapted to children. In Sweden,
around 1 500 children stay in shelters every year, compared to around
1 700 women.
31. In 2000, Save the Children published a manual for crisis interviews
aimed at helping children who have witnessed violence in the family.
It was meant to be
a model for practical work with children in, for example, woman
shelters and in the social services, trying to strengthen their
own healing resources. The method is now widely used in Sweden and
helps several hundred children every year.
7. Possible action
at national level
32. Any legal measures aimed at preventing or stopping
violence against mothers can also protect their children. The woman
breaking off the abusive relationship does not automatically end
the risk of violence. On the contrary, that risk may increase. Sometimes
a mother is forced to arrange her life in a manner reminiscent of
the old abusive relationship. She feels that her life is threatened,
but is responsible for access to children and co-operation with
their father running smoothly.
33. When a family breaks up as an effect of violence many children
lose the protection of their mother, and are left alone with a violent
father when they visit him. Other children totally lose contact
with the abusive father against their own will. Much too often,
the extent of contact with the father is determined without an individual assessment
of the child’s needs. According to the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child every child has a right to both its parents. And every
child has the right to be protected against violence. Sometimes
these two rights are impossible to combine. Decisions regarding
custody and visitation are important factors in protecting a child
against domestic violence.
34. During the last ten years, there has been a very rapid development
regarding awareness of the problem, regarding support for the children
and regarding legislation. In Sweden, if a child witnesses violence
against its mother the punishment for the crime of violence is harsher.
The child who is exposed is entitled to financial compensation from
the state. During the first two years the law has been in use, 110
children have been compensated.
35. The awareness of the damaging effects of violence against
children, and also of violence witnessed by children and the resources
employed to protect and support children in such situations, varies
between different countries and communities. At the same time, the
huge costs generated by violence against women suggest that preventive
programmes could be very cost efficient. The child and the family
are placed in a social context where, in addition to legal regulations
and mechanisms, culture, values, and attitudes along with other factors
such as neighbourhood characteristics, school systems or the intervention
of professionals determine the response given to every child’s situation.
Changes regarding all these factors can influence the assistance provided
and the individual child’s future.
36. The issue of children as witnesses seems to be a very specific
problem in the larger context of domestic violence and violence
against women. Nevertheless, any responses to it at a national level
should be based on an overall approach. In the light of the various
aspects highlighted by this report, they should include legal measures
tackling the issue through the prevention or prosecution of domestic
violence, but also through custody and visitation rules after family
break-ups. In order to efficiently implement such legal measures,
they should be accompanied by co-ordinated national policies aimed
at influencing the various factors likely to enhance children’s
situations in contexts of domestic violence.
8. Children who witness
domestic violence in Council of Europe instruments and activities
37. The rights and protection of children are covered
by major conventions of the Council of Europe such as the Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS
No. 5) and the revised European Social Charter (ETS No. 163), as
well as those of other international organisations such as the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child. The issue of children appears more specifically
in various Council of Europe conventions, such as (non-exhaustive
list):
- the European Convention
on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning Custody of
Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children (ETS No. 105);
- the European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s
Rights (ETS No. 160);
- the Convention on Contact concerning Children (ETS No.
192);
- the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of
Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS No.
201).
38. The Council of Europe presently undertakes various activities
related to children’s issues. In the intergovernmental sector, the
European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) is one of the main
bodies having contributed to the preparation of some of the above-mentioned
instruments. The most recent events flagging up the presence of
the Council of Europe in European debates in this field was the
Conference on the Protection of Children in European Justice Systems,
held in Toledo, Spain, on 12 and 13 March 2009 organised in co-operation
with the Spanish Ministry of Justice, as well as the 29th Conference
of European Ministers of Justice held in Tromsø, Norway, on 18 and
19 June 2009.
39. Already further to its 28th Conference of European Ministers
of Justice (Lanzarote, October 2007), the Committee of Ministers
had entrusted the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ),
the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), the Steering Committee
for Human Rights (CDDH), the European Commission for the Efficiency
of Justice (CEPEJ) as well as other competent bodies of the Council
of Europe with the task of preparing European guidelines on child-friendly
justice, which should also be presented before the end of 2009.
40. Under the Council of Europe programme Building a Europe For
and With Children, the issue is approached by three closely related
stands: the promotion of children's access to justice, the eradication
of all forms of violence against children, and the promotion of
child participation. An important outcome of the work realised under
this programme has been the adoption of the Council of Europe Policy
Guidelines on Integrated National Strategies for the Protection
of Children from Violence (on 18 November 2009), which already include the
aspect of children witnessing domestic violence. To allow an inclusive
and transversal consultation on this non-binding political instrument,
the Council of Europe launched its Platform on Children’s Rights
in June 2009. Amongst the objectives of this virtual forum, bringing
together government-appointed focal points on the rights of the
child, representatives of international organisations and international
NGOs, as well as renowned international experts, are the development
of methodologies and tools suitable for the specific settings where violence
against children takes places, including within the family. In 2010
and 2011, the platform will focus on the promotion and implementation
in member states of integrated national strategies for the protection
of children from violence.
41. Without being their main focus, children’s issues are also
considered in recent or current Council of Europe activities to
combat violence against women including domestic violence, such
as those undertaken by the task force set up following the Warsaw
Summit, under the Council of Europe campaign 2006-08. They are also
considered by the Ad hoc Committee on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence (CAHVIO); the latter being set
up for the period from 2009 to 2010 and mandated for the preparation
of one or more legally binding instrument(s) “to prevent and combat
domestic violence including specific forms of violence against women
…” and “to protect and support the victims of such violence and prosecute
the perpetrators”.
9. Conclusions
42. Despite the multitude of activities, none of the
mentioned instruments or activities of the Council of Europe does
explicitly deal with the specific issue of children who witness
domestic violence and notably violence against women. The neglect
of this aspect is all the more regrettable as it can – as the present
report shows – very often be a precursor to violence against children
themselves. Furthermore, and where children and adolescents are
affected in their development, the phenomena of children who witness
domestic violence becomes a more general social problem for our
societies.
43. Identifying situations where children become witnesses of
domestic violence should be part of prevention and anticipation
strategies with regard to violence against children themselves,
at all political levels. The fact that children witness domestic
violence should therefore also be taken into consideration in the
current work on a Council of Europe convention on domestic violence,
as well as in future monitoring mechanisms related to this field.
Finally, the rapporteur believes that Council of Europe member states
should consider it as an important aspect in their national legislation
and policies related to children’s rights and protection.
44. The Assembly has always supported and actively participated
in all activities related to the issues of children and domestic
violence, including violence against women. In order to address
these phenomena, it adopted
Recommendation
1847 (2008) on combating violence against women: towards a Council
of Europe convention. It also takes an active part in the work of
the CAHVIO with regard to the preparation of a convention against
domestic violence. With regard to this current work and the ongoing
drafting process, the rapporteur wishes to underline the importance
and the scope of the issue of children who witness domestic violence.
45. As the present report shows, domestic violence affects women
disproportionally and children are very often witnesses of and thus
concerned by this violence against their mothers. Due to the key
role that women and mothers play, a future Council of Europe convention
should firstly be an instrument regarding violence against women.
It should further include in an appropriate manner the issue of
children witnessing domestic violence. Finally, the rapporteur believes
that, in order to reach an optimal impact of European policies on children
who witness domestic violence, the issue should be contained in
the core text of a future Council of Europe convention and not only
be referred to in a possible additional protocol.
***
Reporting committee:
Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee
Reference to committee: Doc. 11572, Reference 3444 of 29 May 2008
Draft resolution and recommendation adopted
unanimously by the committee on 11 December 2009
Members of the committee: Mrs Christine McCafferty (Chairperson), Mr Denis Jacquat (1st Vice-Chairperson),
Ms Liliane Maury Pasquier (2nd Vice-Chairperson), Ms María del Rosario
Fátima Aburto Baselga, Mr Francis
Agius, Mr Farkhad Akhmedov, Mr Milos Aligrudić, Ms Karin Andersen,
Ms Magdalina Anikashvili, Mr Konstantinos Aivaliotis, Ms Sirpa Asko-Seljavaara,
Mr Lokman Ayva, Mr Mario
Barbi, Mr Andris Berzinš, Mr Roland Blum, Ms Olena Bondarenko, Ms
Monika Brüning, Ms Bożenna Bukiewicz, Ms Karmela Caparin, Mr Igor
Chernyshenko (alternate: Mr Parfenov),
Mr Desislav Chukolov, Mr
Agustín Conde Bajén, Mr Imre
Czinege, Mr Karl Donabauer, Ms Emilia Fernández Soriano (alternate:
Mrs Blanca Fernández-Capel Baños),
Ms Daniela Filipiová, Ms Ilija Filipović, Mr Paul Flynn, Ms Pernille
Frahm, Ms Doris Frommelt, Mr Marco Gatti, Mr Ljubo Germič, Mr Luc
Goutry, Mr Neven Gosović, Ms Claude Greff, Ms Dzhema Grozdanova, Mr Michael Hancock, Ms Olha Herasym’yuk,
Mr Ali Huseynov, Mr Fazail İbrahimli, Mr Birkir Jón Jónsson, Ms
Marietta Karamanli, Mr Włodzimierz Karpiński, Mr Michail Katrinis,
Mr András Kelemen, Mr Peter Kelly, Baroness Knight of Collingtree,
Mr Haluk Koç, Mr Oleg Lebedev,
Mr Paul Lempens, Mr Bernard Marquet,
Mr Patrick Moriau, Mr Felix Müri, Ms Christine Muttonen, Ms Carina Ohlsson, Mr Pieter Omtzigt, Ms Lajla Pernaska, Mr
Zoran Petreski, Ms Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin, Mr CezarFlorin Preda,
Mr Vjerica Radeta, Mr Maria Pilar Riba Font, Mr Walter Riester,
Mr Nicolae Robu, Mr Ricardo Rodrigues, Ms Maria de Belém Roseira,
Ms Marlene Rupprecht (alternate: Mr Wolfgang Wodarg),
Mr Indrek Saar, Mr Maurizio Saia, Mr Fidias Sarikas,
Mr Ellert Schram, Ms Anna Sobecka, Ms Michaela Šojdrová, Mr Marc
Spautz (alternate: Mr Jean Huss),
Ms Arūnė Stirblytė, Mr Oreste Tofani, Mr Mihai Tudose, Mr Alexander
Ulrich, Mr Mustafa Ünal, Mr
Milan Urbáni, Mr Luca Volontè, Mr Victor Yanukovych, Mr Vladimir
Zhidkikh
NB: The names of the members who took part in the meeting
are printed in bold
Secretariat of the committee:
Mr Mezei, Ms Lambrecht, Ms Arzilli