The risks of harm to children caused by domestic violence have now been recognised. An amendment to the definition of harm in the Children Act 1989 now includes ‘impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another’ (Adoption and Children Act, 2002). This reflects that children living with domestic violence are over-represented among those children referred to statutory children and families teams with concerns about child abuse and neglect, and represent up to two thirds of cases seen at child protection conferences. However, children’s experiences of domestic violence are more than a child protection issue. Research with children suggests it has implications for education, health, welfare, civil and criminal justice. (from the website)

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Resesarch and practice briefing: children and families, 14, 2006