• Witnessing domestic violence puts children at risk for:
  • Fearful, aggressive, inhibited or antisocial behaviors
  • Aggression, depression, anxiety and temperament problems
  • Decreased empathy for others
  • Lowered interpersonal, verbal cognitive and motor skills
  • Lowered self-esteem
• Preschool-age children are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of exposure to violence1
• 90% of children living in homes where domestic violence occurs are aware of that violence (National Women's Violence Prevention Project)
• More than half of all domestic violence restraining orders issued in Massachusetts note the presence of a child in the home (Massachusetts Office of the Commissioner of Probation)
• Witnessing domestic violence is now recognized as a significant predictor of juvenile delinquency and adult criminal behavior by males.
• Some research has shown that boys who witness violence in their homes tend to become more abusive adults; girls who witness violence in their homes are at greater risk for becoming a victim of domestic violence.1
• Child witnesses to domestic violence (both boys and girls) may believe violence is an appropriate means of resolving conflict and an integral part of a close relationship.1

Additional information regarding children who witness domestic violence is available in District Attorney Keating's Domestic Violence Hurts Kids brochure. To request a copy of this brochure, go to Publications.

Children who witness violence will also be a focus of the nascent Child Advocacy Center of Norfolk County.