In what ways are children harmed by domestic violence? How should services for children and families address parental problems which clearly endanger children’s welfare and safety?

Introduction
Within this essay I will be looking at domestic violence and the ways in which this can harm children this ties into child abuse and the various types of child abuse which I will be looking at and indentifying the category into which the harm may fall. This will involve defining abuse and domestic violence and looking at various terms such as the social construct of child abuse and the factors which contribute to child abuse and domestic violence. This essay will include some facts and figures about abuse and the causes and effects of domestic violence. I will also look at the contributing factors to parental problems that contribute to domestic violence and child abuse and the ways that services can tackle these.

In what ways are children harmed by domestic violence?
There are many ways that parents can act which endanger their children, there are many parental behaviours that increase the risk of exposing their children to abuse, these were identified by Cleaver et al (1999) as being drug use, problem drinking and domestic violence. Other behaviours can include those displayed by parents with mental health issues, all of these behaviours can and do effect the level of care, often being inconsistent and unpredictable and potentially leading to the child caring for the parent (topic 15, p.47).
Firstly I will give a recognised definition of domestic violence there are many definitions of domestic violence and so I have chosen to use the following definition as found in the chapter by Cathy Humphreys in the course reader. Domestic violence typically involves a pattern physical, sexual and emotional abuse and intimidation which escalates in frequency and severity over time. It can be understood as a misuse of power and the exercise of control (Pense and Paymar 1988, 1990) by one partner over the other in an intimate relationship, usually by a man over a woman, occasionally by a woman over a man (though without the same pattern of societal

References: The Open University (2009) Working with Children and Families, Topic 15 ‘Safeguarding children’ The Open University, Foley, P., Roche, J and Tucker, S., (2001) Children in Society; Contemporary Theory, Policy and Practice, Chapter 15, The impact of domestic violence on children, Humphreys, C., Chapter 20, An ecological perspective on child abuse, Jack, G.,