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Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Teacher's Handbook To Increase Understanding and Improve Community Responses

NCJ Number
202188
Author(s)
Linda L. Baker; Peter G. Jaffe; Lynda Ashbourne; Janet Carter
Date Published
2002
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This handbook for teachers provides information on domestic violence and its impact on children and adolescents exposed to it; the signs that students may show when they are having difficulties; ways to support students and deal with challenging behaviors in school; and support and resources for parents who may be adult victims of domestic violence.
Abstract
For the purposes of this handbook, "domestic violence" is defined as "the abuse and/or assault of adolescents or adults by their intimate partners;" and "children exposed to domestic violence" are defined as "children and adolescents seeing, hearing, or being aware of violence against one parent figure that is perpetrated by another parent figure." An overview of the nature and dynamics of domestic violence includes the depiction of a "power and control wheel" with the hub of the wheel being the primary motive for domestic violence, i.e., "power and control." The various spokes of the wheel label and describe the various abusive means used to exert power and control over partners. Findings are presented from the U.S. National Violence Against Women Survey conducted from November 1995 to May 1996, which found that in the United States, approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men annually experience violence by a current or former partner. Another section of the handbook outlines the impacts on children and adolescents of being exposed to domestic violence. Such children and adolescents may experience increased emotional and behavioral difficulties; they are also at increased risk of experiencing physical injury or abuse themselves. Potential impacts of domestic violence on children and adolescents are broken down by age-related development. Signs of the impact of domestic violence on students of various ages are listed. This is followed by a section of the handbook that presents guidelines for teachers in dealing with troubling behaviors of students, regardless of whether the cause is domestic violence. Other topics addressed in sections of the handbook are school and community partnerships; how to help a parent who is a victim of domestic violence; ways to support a student who makes a disclosure; guidelines to assist teachers' decisionmaking and formal responses to disclosures; reporting to child protection services; safety planning; community responses; school-based violence prevention; and resource information on where to go for help. 23 references