Children are often invisible in the coverage of domestic and family abuse where the trauma of the experience whether to themselves and/or other family members can continue throughout their lives.
Often the experience of a child with domestic abuse is absent because of the shame and fear in speaking out about it, and children brought up in such a home may not know or understand that the situation is unusual or abnormal.
Research has shown that domestic and family abuse shapes a child’s brain, informs how the child thinks and feels, informing how the future adult conducts herself or himself in their relationships and in the world.
Also, most concerning is that domestic abuse and violence is the primary cause in Australia of homelessness amongst children.
The short film that follows shows how the 3R’s of the Rotary Safe Families program can be used to assist children when subjected to domestic abuse. Dorothy Gilmour and her Safe Families team have again done a great job in producing this short film. So, here it is.
https://rotarysafefamilies.org.au/latest-news-item/45777/new-film-child-abuse/?type_fr=1158
Having watched the film, there are a few questions we can ask ourselves:
1. What outcome and future do we think Charlie would have if his abuse wasn’t identified by his grandfather and he wasn’t referred to support organisations?
2. Could Charlie develop into a perpetrator of abuse when he is older?
3. What would stop us from using the Safe Families 3R’s to assist a vulnerable young person who is being abused– in Recognising the signs, Raising concerns safely and Referring the victim for appropriate professional support, and finally;
4. Would we share what we have seen with family, friends and colleagues?
by Peter Berg
