Community Development Journal 41(4) October 2006 : 481-491

This paper uses the example of the Auckland Child Crisis Team, a child advocacy service for children who witness violence in the home, to illustrate how conversations with children who have witnessed domestic violence can enable their voices to contribute to community development processes in understanding and finding solutions to domestic violence in society. Creating space for children's voices, by way of advocacy, allows vital input into developing effective policies and practices in community development intervention in domestic violence. It enhances the integration of local knowledge and experience in the design and delivery of services and programmes that are appropriate to the needs of children. The authors argue that, as an inclusive practice, child advocacy positions children as active participants, rather than passive recipients of adult solutions, in seeking to address violence in the home. It is concluded that a community development approach of child advocacy allows resiliency factors to play into the equation of addressing issues in domestic violence and child protection.