Domestic Violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States between the ages of 15 and 44. It is also the least reported act of violence. Often, women are afraid to call authorities because of how their partners will react. They are also concerned with how friends and society will perceive them if the situation becomes high profile. Unfortunately, in the midst of this, a much overlooked side effect is child abuse as well. Research shows that about 30% - 60% of male abusers, abuse children in the household as well. These children grow up in an unstable, frightening environment and are in danger of suffering from physical harm and emotional abuse like taunting, threatening and belittling.
New research published online by Pediatrics shows that injury from abuse like head traumas and burns rose from 1997 – 20009 rose by 4.9%. Specifically, about 6 out of every 100,000 children in the U.S. are physically abused. The majority of the increase in numbers is attributed to abuse of very young children. Traumatic injury rose 10.9% in children under one year old.
If you suspect that a child in the family is being abused by a parent, do not hesitate to get the authorities involved. Signs for child abuse are similar to those you might see in a spouse who is abused. They are as follows:
1) The child is hyper-aware of his surroundings. He appears to be observing everything, always prepared for something bad to happen.
2) The child is overly quiet, passive, withdrawn, compliant and fearful.
3) The child has trouble concentrating.
4) The child has a sudden lack of interest in school, friends and activities.
5) The child does not want to go home.
6) The child avoids contact with adults or one particular adult in the family
7) Physical injuries such as black and blue marks, broken arms or blisters.
A parent that is abusing a spouse may also employ the same type of abusive behavior on children in the home. These behaviors include:
1) The abuser exposes the child to violence against the other parent.
2) There is little interaction and no signs of affection.
3) The abuser embarrasses or humiliates the child with yelling, taunting or bullying.
4) The abuser tells the child that he was a “mistake” or is a “bad” kid.
5) The abuser physically harms the child as a form of punishment.
These are the signs for others to look for. However, if you are the perpetrator of domestic abuse in your family and are looking for guidance and support to overcome this behavior, taking online domestic violence classes from the AJ Novick Group, Inc., is a good place to start. There are a variety of reasons why an individual might employ this behavior. The perpetrator may have endured abuse as a child and this is the only way he knows how to operate, or he has stress and anger management issues. Whatever the case may be, domestic violence classes will help to identify the cause, learn new skills in effectively communicating with the family, and how to make a positive change. Taking the classes online gives the client the freedom of taking them in the privacy of his own home, at any time that is convenient. They will help the individual to get on track to regaining healthy family relationships for a happier, more-fulfilling life.
