Publication details
Child as a Witness of Domestic Violence
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.lawrights.asn.au/6th-world-congress/papers.html |
| Keywords | child, witness, domestic violence, autonomy of the will |
| Description | Domestic violence between parents can cause the CAN (Child abuse and neglect) syndrome, even if the child is not the so called direct victim. Psychical pressure can be perceived as an abuse. The contemporary society is responsible for protecting children from this kind of maltreatment and should ensure their healthy development as well as stopping the vicious circle of domestic violence. Psychological research indicates that a child, who is a witness of domestic violence, usually becomes an adult victim or a violator. Should we accept this approach to domestic violence in family with children, it is necessary to prepare legal background for this area. Nowadays, it is a direct victim of domestic violence who is responsible for starting the help process – asking police, social workers or courts for help. But what if the child is a witness? Is the role of a state to protect the child from wrong influences of its own family? Where are the boarders between the right of parents to educate their children on their own and the duty of a state to prevent violence? As noted above, domestic violence is a circle behavior. Therefore if the state let domestic violence in families with children without intervention, there may be a great chance that the child grows up into a violent person or a victim in another domestic violence relationship. From this point of view there should be a legal possibility to intervene, even if the child is not the direct victim of violence. |
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