The first and the foremost thing that a child needs to live happily is a safe and protected environment with ample love and affection from their parents and elders. An environment that is free of violence or any kind of assault, where the child could reach out for help and support – a soothing and comforting place. 

As domestic violence is a major issue of concern in the country, for many children home is not at all a protected place. Every year numerous cases of domestic violence are reported in India, whereas a number of them go unreported. However domestic violence does have a harsh impact on kids directly or indirectly.

How domestic violence affects kids

Be it any form of violence, it does have a great impact on the development of a child. It has been observed that many children who experience domestic violence at home are also victims of child abuse. These children are not just at risk of long term physical assault but also suffer mental health problems.

Domestic violence that a child is exposed to at home can be of different kinds. In addition to physical assault, other kinds of violence that a child might be exposed to include the usage of abusive language at home, a constant quarrel between parents, mental torture or stress caused by a depressing environment at home, psychological abuse, and so on. 

Here are some of the issues that domestic violence causes to young children

• Children exposed to domestic violence at home are likely to be victims of abuse 
• These children are more at risk of having failed relationships in the future or become violent in their future relationships
• Parents in abusive relationships find it difficult to know how to protect their child, thereby making them suffer immensely
• Children who might not be directly exposed to or victims of domestic violence are also likely to face psychological issues in life
• These children might be low in social skills
• Moreover, these children can also face eating and sleeping irregularities
• They can be more aggressive at school or with friends. They may portray bullying behaviour or might themselves be the target of the bully 
• And in extreme cases, such children might take to drugs and alcohol
• They may struggle with studies and might not perform well in academics

Some eye-opening statistics

In 2018 as many as 103, 272 cases of domestic abuse and assault were registered in India, while in 2019 the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) registered 

126,000 cases of domestic violence. In 2020, during the lockdown caused by Covid19, the country witnessed a surge in crimes against women. In fact, as per the National Legal Services Authority, as many as 2,878 cases of domestic violence were reported during just two months of the lockdown period between April to June 2020.

How to help children recover 

 Different children react differently to the trauma associated with domestic violence. Some may be resilient enough to cope with it easily, while others are very sensitive to such issues. To help a child recover from such a traumatic state of mind, he/she must have

• support and trust of some elders who they can confide with
• they also need good friends and loved ones to fall upon, and
• strong self-esteem to cope with the situation at home
• a child counsellor with whom they can share and discuss their feelings easily

With the right support and help, a child coming from such a background of violence at home can have better chances of learning good ways to deal with such traumatic memories as they grow into adults. Also, this way they are likely to become a healthy adult both physically as well as mentally. 

Zoylu.com is one such platform where parents can find a good and supportive network of child counsellors who are there to help and soothe every child with a traumatic background to make them mentally strong and healthy so that they can lead a successful life in the future.