Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Links

Whether the pattern of assault is described as wife beating, spouse abuse, domestic violence, or--more broadly--family violence, the impact and consequences remain the same. It is currently estimated that four million women are battered every year. According to the Justice Department, 95 percent of assaults against spouses or partners are committed by men against women. While it was historically considered a man's right to "control" his wife through violent means, present-day society is refusing to look the other way as women and children live in fear within the confines of their own homes.

By staring the issue squarely in the eye, new light has been shed on the far-reaching impact of domestic violence upon our nation's families and the very fabric of our society. It is increasingly being discovered that families marred by domestic violence are also more likely to experience violence against children. While this revelation may not seem particularly startling, given the proclivity to violence already exhibited by one member of the household, the two problems have traditionally been viewed and treated as separate issues. This has given rise to two distinct advocacy organizations--one woman-focused and the other child-focused--with differing approaches to intervention, prevention and treatment.

Recent research on domestic violence reveals that from 45 percent to 70 percent of battered women retreating to shelters report the existence of some form of child abuse in their homes. In one 1988 study, it was found that as many as two-thirds of abused children had mothers who were also being battered (Stark and Flitcraft, 1988). Such statistics are useful in validating and defining the scope of the problem, but it is more difficult to determine the specific factors linking domestic violence to child abuse. Understanding this link is critically important for future efforts to assess the risk both adults and children face living in violent homes, and for the development of effective prevention and treatment efforts.

In some child abuse situations, the children are not the primary targets of the attacks. A man's assault on his wife or partner can result in indirectly harming a child who tries to intervene or who gets in the way of the fight. The mistaken, or exaggerated, notion also exists that battered women are most often the perpetrators of abuse against their children out of frustration and anger over their own maltreatment. It has been documented that children are three times as likely to be abused by their fathers as their mothers, with the attacks being more severe and/or frequent than abusive acts instigated by mothers.

It is also now widely asserted that the vast majority of batterers have themselves witnessed or experienced this behavior in their own families. The rate of wife or partner beating is dramatically higher for the sons of batterers than for sons of non-batterers. Violent behavior becomes part of the familial code of conduct; aggression becomes the accepted method of conflict resolution. Thus, the cycle of violence continues to turn through generation after generation. If left unimpeded, the effects of this cycle spread wider and wider as children grow up functionally impaired, applying their learned behaviors within relationships outside of their immediate family.

The damage done to a child's emotional well-being from the repeated witnessing of violence against his/her mother can be as harmful as actual physical abuse to that child. Tragically, many children suffer from experiencing both. Thus, the frequent concurrence of domestic violence and child abuse can deal a "double whammy" to some children that can place them at even greater risk of perpetuating the cycle. It is generally acknowledged that both Child Protective Service (CPS) workers and battered women's advocates share a common concern for the safety of their clients and an interest in stopping the cycle of family violence. However, their roots, philosophies, mandates and approaches traditionally differ, presenting conflicts and tensions among the very groups victims count on for assistance.

Child protective services are defined as specialized casework services to neglected, abused or exploited children and their families. Their roots are planted in the social work profession, employing a problem-solving approach based on determining and protecting "the best interest of the child." They have a legal mandate to investigate all allegations of child abuse and neglect, and are required to demonstrate and certify that "reasonable efforts" were made to preserve families before removing children to foster care.

In contrast to child protective services, domestic violence programs and shelters were developed to meet the needs of battered women, not their children. These efforts are largely grassroots in nature, with roots in the civil rights and feminist movements. Their primary goal is helping the abused woman assess her situation, regain a sense of strength, and seek the surest and safest path away from continued violence. Empowering and enabling battered women to separate from their abusers and move on to more productive, violent-free lives, is at the heart of this movement's agenda.

The problem that has begun to emerge by blending woman and child abuse into a redefined "family violence" crisis is that neither constituency has been trained or prepared to recognize and address the existence of the other. The barriers to collaboration are varied and deep-seated. In the past, workers in battered women's shelters were reluctant to refer adult clients to CPS, or seek their direct assistance, when child abuse was reported or indicated. Prior experience led women's shelters workers to label CPS workers as insensitive and unsympathetic to the mother's plight. Shelter workers came to believe that by keeping mothers away from CPS red tape, they were protecting them from unwanted scrutiny and additional stress. Women were viewed as being revictimized by the system rather than saved by it

This clash was further ignited by the position CPS workers often took against mothers of abused children, who were labeled as unwilling or unable to protect their own children from violence. These mothers, they claim, were penalized by CPS by having their children taken away when most of them would be perfectly capable of caring for their children if the batterer were removed instead and the violence ended.

The current approach to the question of how to best protect the child from harm is to assert that a mother who is freed from a violent and threatening environment will then, in most cases, be the best equipped to protect her children in turn. Writing about children's civil rights in a National Coalition Against Domestic Violence newsletter, Sheila James Kuehl simply states: "We can think about making children safe by removing them from the abuse. Or we can think about making them safe by making their mothers safe. These two are not mutually exclusive."

The needs of women and children, then, are not in conflict. The disunity occurs over determining how to--and who can--best provide protection and treatment for the victims. The bonds joining the two groups can be as strong as the barriers they face. Both want to eradicate violence from the home setting. Both understand the root causes of family violence and have been specially trained to identify risks, legal implications and treatment options. Both acknowledge the importance of strengthening the family unit. Both have a shared history of advocacy, and are traditionally underpaid and overworked. Both also face similar personal, on-the-job safety concerns.

The stereotypes and misconceptions that crippled both fields are beginning to give way through knowledge-building and collaboration. The resources and expertise of both CPS workers and battered women's advocates are increasingly being blended to provide safety for all family members affected by violence. Coordination and cooperation are being fostered through a growing number of national, state and local program initiatives aimed at providing maximum protection for the overlapping population of women and children in abusive homes, regardless of which problem came to light first.

A national initiative was formed by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, based in San Francisco, blending input from several domestic violence programs nationwide to develop a National Curriculum on Domestic Violence for Family Preservation Workers. Their goal was to foster collaboration between the fields of domestic violence and family preservation, and to provide training and assessment tools to help workers identify and treat victims of domestic violence.

Numerous state initiatives are now underway as well. The Massachusetts Department of Social Services formed a Domestic Violence Unit, which was one of the first comprehensive responses to domestic violence launched by a state child protection agency. Their goal is to improve the response capabilities of CPS workers to domestic violence and keep both adults and children safely together whenever possible. The Healthy Start program in Hawaii is designed to strengthen families and prevent abuse by building strong parent-child relationships and promoting positive parenting skills. Families are screened for their risk of violence right in the hospital after the birth of a child, and help is provided through home visitation and continued support services.

Michigan's statewide family preservation initiative, Families First, began a dialogue with the state's Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board out of recognition that each shared a common caseload, yet no formal channels for collaboration existed between the agencies. Out of this grew the state's first domestic violence in-service training seminar on domestic violence for Families First staff. Additionally, Families First teams now work with women and children referred from shelters who are determined to be at risk for homelessness, abusive or neglectful environments, or other dangerous conditions. Collaborative efforts are also taking place in states all across the nation, such as Maryland, Oregon, New York, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Jersey, and others.

On the local front, cities such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Duluth, Minnesota; Boston, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; San Diego, California; and Dayton, Ohio have launched innovative programs combining child-based and woman-based services to address their overlapping needs.

In 1991, the Conrad H. Hilton Foundation awarded a grant to the Family Violence Project of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges for a three-year project to analyze state legislation on family violence and to develop a model code on domestic violence and family violence. The resulting Model Code, published in 1994, was developed with the expert assistance of a 23-member advisory committee that included judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, battered women's advocates, health care and law enforcement professionals, legislators, and concerned citizens.

The comprehensive policy recommendations of the Model Code are based upon several key provisions: (1) treat domestic violence as a crime, (2) provide for the safety and well-being of children, (3) offer procedures for timely and comprehensive protection orders for victims, and (4) promote a coordinated community response to domestic and family violence. Chapters in the code address the issues of criminal penalties and procedures, civil protection orders, family and children, and prevention and treatment.

Under the Model Code, improved and increased training for both legal professionals and law enforcement officers was recommended. The recent and rapid rise of state legislative reforms in these areas is making it increasingly difficult for attorneys, judges and other judicial personnel to stay on top of the latest statutes. It is also critical for these professionals to keep abreast of changing attitudes and newly reported research data on the issue of family violence to better serve their clients and society as a whole.

In today's courtroom, custody decisions and visitation rulings must be shaped by the overriding imperative of keeping the children, and their mothers, safe from further violence. To do so, legal authorities need a full understanding of the dynamics of family violence, and an awareness of the fact that abuse by the perpetrator often escalates during separation or divorce. Likewise, police officers are key players in shaping the outcome of a particular case, and they require updated training to recognize and deal with the various types of violence impacting a domestic dispute call.

Laws, attitudes, and treatment options are rapidly changing in the field of family violence. Continued education and training of all professionals involved is critical for stopping the cycle of family violence. Working hand-in-hand with the need for more training is a call for more research into the concurrence of domestic violence and child abuse. Previous studies have not had adequate time to conduct thorough follow-ups on families in crisis or to track the long-term success of programs for perpetrators.

Additionally, information about child abuse within homes experiencing domestic violence has traditionally been gathered from mothers in shelters, who are not always deemed to be reliable sources while under the added stress of flight. It has also been found that relying solely on mothers' observations about their children's behavior, and the possible effects of domestic violence on them, can provide a skewed assessment of the family's situation. Improved data collection, increased study of the link between these issues, and prolonged examination of program effectiveness are clearly required.

There can no longer be any doubt that child protective workers and battered women's advocates serve an intertwined population. Improving the ability of each group to recognize and respond to the needs of the other comes around full circle. When the problem is viewed as family violence, the end result is better protection for both women and children.

Family Violence Project of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (1994). "Family Violence: A Model State Code."

Kuehl, S.J. (1993, Winter). Children's civil rights = children's movement. "NCADV VOICE."

Schechter, S. (1994, June). Model initiatives linking domestic violence and child welfare. Document prepared for the conference Domestic Violence and Child Welfare: Integrating Policy and Practice for Families, Wingspread, Racine, WI.

Stark, E. and Flitcraft, A. (1988). Women and children: A feminist perspective on child abuse. International Journal of Health Services 18. 97-118.

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