Family review highlights life-long impact of domestic violence
Amy Houghton
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Children who witness domestic violence in the early years are more likely to struggle with relationships as teenagers, a new report by the children’s commissioner for England has found.
The first part of the Independent Family Review, published by the children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, warns that young people who experience domestic violence between parents at age three are likely to showcase 30 per cent more anti-social behaviour than average by age 14.
The report describes how domestic abuse can also destabilise a young person’s life, often forcing them to move home frequently for their safety, disrupting their education and friendships.
Services available to these children are described in the report as “precarious”, despite data showing that between 2020 and 2021, a total of 168, 960 children in England had been impacted by concerns over domestic abuse.
In her report, de Souza refers to an analysis by Action for Children, suggesting that services do not currently demonstrate sufficient consideration of the impact of coercive or controlling family dynamics on children.
Ahead of the naming of a new prime minister next week, de Souza focuses on the “protective effect” of the family and uses the report to highlight the realities of modern family life, urging government to put parents and children at the centre of policy-making.
She said: “The last few years have been challenging for everyone, and the pandemic has reaffirmed the importance of family. We know that if children have supportive families, they are more likely to succeed later on in life. They are more likely to have healthy relationships and happy lives.
“The research has produced a novel, unique and comprehensive insight into family life today. It shows for the first time that family provides a shield from life’s challenges – a protective effect against adversity.”
In response to the review, Donna Molloy, director of the Early Intervention Foundation said: “The children’s commissioner is right to say that being in a family can have a protective effect on children, and indeed lead to better outcomes in life. However, as the report also points out, this is not always the case and families can also be a source of risk particularly where issues such as parental substance abuse or domestic violence occur.
“External factors can make these challenges worse for many families. Now, with steep increases in the cost of living, parents and families need support both to reduce financial pressures they are facing and to deal with the stresses these can place on family life.”
Steve Crocker, president of the Association of Directors of Social Care (ADCS) added: “The Association has long called for children and their families to be at the heart of all decisions made in Whitehall, to create a country that works for them. Improving outcomes for children and families must be the golden thread running across all government departments. Financial pressure was a common concern raised by the families surveyed, linked to the cost of living. Now more than ever, families need the government to support them with rising food, fuel and energy prices which will push many more families into poverty, and damage children’s life chances.
“For children in care who cannot live with their birth families we must ensure they too benefit from the loving, supportive and enduring relationships that they need and deserve. The independent review of children’s social care seeks to put relationships front and centre of children’s social care and to shift the dial on how and when we support children and families making the case for greater investment in them. ADCS is keen to work closely with government, and others, to achieve meaningful reform for children in care and to secure the long-term sustainable investment needed to enable all children and families to thrive.”
The second part of the review will “develop a high-level outcomes framework which focuses on family strength” and outline policy proposals for ministers. It will be published later this year.
