Children: Innocent Victims of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is comprised of willful intimidation, assault, battery, sexual assault or other abusive behavior committed by an intimate partner against another. According to The National Center for Victims of Crime (2011), aggressors of domestic violence persistently disparage, degrade or humiliate their partners. Unfortunately, domestic violence victims are known to habitually blame their own actions, rather than the violent behavior of the abuser. Conversely, violence perpetrated by abusers is repetitively self-driven and depends little on the victims' behavior. The use of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse fused together with episodes of "respite, love, and happiness are premeditated coercive tools used to generate submission" (The National Center for Victims of Crime, 2011, para. 6). This confusing behavior generates a perplexing situation for victims. Domestic violence affects not only those abused. Regrettably, children are victims of domestic violence too. The challenging battle amid intimate partners is continuously a burning research topic correlated to the ill effects that the violence has on children. Therefore, it is reputed that the impact of witnessing domestic violence would have the capability to place a magnitude of severe consequences on children.

Innocent Victims of Domestic Violence

Each year, an overwhelming number of innocent children are exposed to domestic violence. Children witnessing domestic violence in America are a significant dilemma that continues to be of high concern. It is estimated within the United States that approximately 15.5 million children have observed domestic violence, while seven million have witnessed brutal violence incidents (Fortin, Doucet, & Damant, 2011). This f...

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