Is it not time we tackled domestic abuse at root cause?
Is it not time we tackled domestic abuse at root cause - and looked after the children already living with it, so they do not fall into a cycle of abuse?
There are many fantastic organisations out there tackling the effects of domestic abuse, and we want to support the children who are already carrying its weight. In 2008 "Refuge" reported primary prevention work was 'the weakest part of the UK responses to domestic abuse'.
Hundreds of thousands of children currently live with, or are exposed to, domestic abuse, carrying the risk of trauma, learned negative behaviours and emotional harm that can last well into adulthood. Too many of them have nowhere to turn: the Domestic Abuse Commissioner's own mapping found that 30% of children's recovery services have had to turn referrals away for lack of capacity or funding, that 72% of these services survive on short-term funding, and that only 29% of victims and survivors report being able to access the specialist support they wanted for their children. Just 4% of the services mapped were even open access.
That is why with "Educate a Generation" we are committed to building free, open-access, trauma-informed resources, sequenced by age, to help children understand, come to terms with, and heal from what they have lived through. Not therapy, not a short facilitated programme, but something a safe parent, a professional, or a young person themselves can turn to, whenever they need it.
We recognise a 1, 2 or 3 year plan will not address the causes, or heal the harm already done. That is why we are thinking generationally: teaching children before abuse begins, and standing beside the children already living with it.
We know that domestic abuse is not easily recognised by those experiencing it or the children and young people who are exposed to it. Beliefs about relationships, gender, jealousy, entitlement, control and acceptable behaviour can develop long before adulthood.
Education can provide an important opportunity to explore what healthy relationships look like, recognise behaviours that may be harmful or abusive, and understand that control is not a sign of love or care. It can also give young people the language to describe their own experiences and, importantly, help them understand where support is available. Conversely, it can also help them to understand what is, and is not, acceptable in relation to their own behaviour and the behaviour of others.
The causes and contexts of abuse are complex, and meaningful prevention requires action across all of society. But earlier conversations can challenge harmful beliefs, create space for questions and help young people recognise behaviours that might otherwise become normalised.
At NCDV, we have decades of experience working with people affected by domestic abuse. Educate a Generation is about using that knowledge to contribute to prevention as well as protection, working alongside others who share the ambition of creating safer relationships for the future.