North York Women's Shelter - Hope Lives Here

EFFECTS ON CHILDREN WITNESSING ABUSE IN THE HOME

• In 2004, 33% of all victims (or 394,000 out of approximately 1,194,000 victims) of spousal violence reported that children saw or heard the violence in the home.
• Children who witness family violence often display elevated rates of depression, aggression, delinquency, and other emotional problems (Steinberg et al, 1993; Edleson, 1999; Fitzgerald, 2004).
• Children who witness their mother being abused by their father or other male partner tend to have lowered school achievement and social skills (Health Canada, 2005).
• Children who witness the violent behaviour of their father or their mother’s partner toward their mother are being emotionally abused. (Health Canada, 2005).
• There is a 30% to 40% overlap between children who witness wife assault and children who experience direct physical abuse themselves. (Health Canada, 2005).
• Witnessing violence increases the chances that boys will grow up to act violently with dating and/or marital partners. For girls, it increases the chances that they will accept violence in their dating and/or marital relationships. (Health Canada, 2005).
• Between April 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004, more than 95,000 women and children were admitted to 473 shelters across Canada. (Statistics Canada Transition Home Survey, 2004).
• A recent survey found on an average day in 2004, there were 6,100 women and dependent children in shelters, the majority of which were there to escape abuse (76% of women and 88% of children.). 67% of children accompanying their mothers to escape abuse were under the age of 10, with children under the age of 5 accounting for 40% of all children admitted. (Statistics Canada Transition Home Survey, 2004). (see note 4)