Domestic violence services should be improved
Tom Lloyd
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
A charity has called for specialist support services for children affected by domestic violence to be set up in every local authority in England.
Domestic violence charity Women’s Aid has been consulting children and young people on domestic violence, through secure online message boards.
In a report, Kidspeak, it makes a number of recommendations based on its research - including creating specialist support services.
The charity also argues that schools and colleges should ensure staff are trained to understand and respond to signs of domestic violence.
Nicola Harwin, the chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: “Children affected by domestic violence need to be listened to.
“The messages on the Kidsspeak messageboard have told us that they are almost always aware of abuse in the home – even if their parents try to keep it from them.”
Findings from the research will be used to develop children’s domestic violence website The Hideout.
