Domestic abuse and mental health spotlight
Domestic abuse has a severe and lasting impact on mental health – yet many survivors struggle to access the support they need.
SafeLives calls on Government to invest in mental health support for children living with domestic abuse
On World Mental Health Day, new data from UK domestic abuse charity SafeLives highlights the devastating mental health impact of domestic abuse on children – who are too often ‘hidden’ from the support they need.
SafeLives’ 2019 Children’s Insights data, which is collected from children accessing specialist domestic abuse support services, found that a third (32%) of children living with domestic abuse reported mental health impacts. Of these, just under half (47%) have anxiety, 28% have problems sleeping, and 23% have feelings of shame or responsibility for the abuse. 3.5% have planned or attempted suicide.
*name changed
Rebecca*At 11 I took my first overdose, at 12 I self-harmed for the first time, at 15 I threw myself off a wall, at 17 I took a second overdose and at 35 I lay in the road and hoped the pain would end. I wanted to be noticed. I wanted my Dad to get help. I wanted someone to ask me how I felt or why I was behaving the way I was.
Suzanne Jacob OBE, Chief Executive of SafeLivesThese heart-breaking findings echo what survivors tell us every day; that children do not simply “witness” domestic abuse, they experience it too and are therefore victims in their own right. Often we ignore that until their coping strategies become severe, then we try to tackle the coping strategy, not the problem causing them harm in the first place.
No child should have to grow up in an atmosphere of fear. For those who do, there needs to be specialist, wraparound support that meets the needs of the whole family. Children should not be left to deal with the mental health impact of domestic abuse alone – but all too often that’s exactly what is happening.
We urge the Government to recognise children as victims in their own right in the Domestic Abuse Bill, and ensure they implement a full statutory duty on local authorities to commission the specialist services children and their families urgently need – alongside further investment in CAMHS
Read the Report
Latest and past data about specialist children’s domestic abuse services
You may also be interested in
Children and young people
Find out more about Safe Young Lives our programme of work across the UK to reduce the risk experienced by young people and to improve the care pathways they can access.
Practitioner datasets
Access our latest national datasets for services supporting domestic abuse victims across the UK.