An examination of how public policy has developed in Great Britain since 1995 focuses on government policy documents that in any way pertain to domestic violence and its impact on children. Overall, government policy documents that deal with domestic violence and its impact on children show an increased recognition of domestic violence as a factor in children's welfare and as a potential form of emotional abuse in itself. In stating the government's commitment to combat domestic violence and the harm it can cause to children, these documents reject the view that domestic violence and its impact on family members is a private matter that should not be subject to government intervention. What is missing, however, is practical guidance on how interventions on behalf of the victims of domestic violence and the children harmed by it can be implemented. In exploring how government policy is to be implemented in practice, Preston-Shoot (2001) argues that government attempts to provide guidelines for practice may undermine practitioners' creative efforts to deal with the complexities and ethical dilemmas of working with children harmed by domestic violence. Government policy and guidelines for practice, regardless of how skillfully and sensitively they are drafted, can only identify the issues practitioners must consider. They cannot provide answers for every situation practitioners will confront. In each case, responses must be crafted by the practitioners in collaboration with those affected by the violence. 51 references