THE COMMUNITY GROUP INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR

CHILDREN WHO WITNESS ABUSE

The Impact of Woman Abuse on Parenting

Perpetrators of woman abuse are responsible for the violence they inflict on their partners. They are also responsible for the caustic and bewildering environment created by the abuse that surrounds the children who live in that environment.

Group Intervention for Children who Witness Woman Abuse

Purpose:

The purpose of the program is to provide children with the opportunity to process and understand the violence and abuse that they have witnessed. The group helps children identify and express emotions surrounding violence, separation, shame, guilt, and/or loss. The children learn to recognize their feelings and understand that their feelings are very important. The children are given opportunities to deal with their feelings constructively.

Groups are also directed toward dispelling destructive myths regarding violence and sex-role stereotyping. Discussions around power and control in relationships and responsibility help children understand who is responsible for violence. Positive conflict resolution through role modeling and play helps children learn new ways of solving problems. Group guidelines help to create a safe and predictable environment for children to disclose. Safety planning in the event of further violence helps children to make safe choices for personal protection. Finally, strategies to enhance esteem are ongoing throughout the group program.

Guiding Principles:

The following are the expectations that will be met by our group setting:

1. The group will provide ample opportunities for children to tell their stories and be heard, believed, and validated.

2. The group will ensure that the children know how to protect themselves emotionally and physically by developing and practicing safety plans.

3. The group will convey the message that all types of violence and abuse are unacceptable.

4. The group will convey that abusive behaviour is a choice and that responsibility lies with the person perpetrating the violence and abuse.

5. The group will explore alternative means of conflict resolution.

6. The group will provide a positive environment where all the activities are learner centred and esteem building.

7. The group will explore the expression of anger and other emotions as well as provide non abusive alternatives.à

Outline for the 10-12 Week Session

Outline and Goals

Week 1 – Introduction to Group

• Break the secret of violence in the family and give permission for the children to talk about it.

• Provide children with a broad definition of violence, and an opportunity to gain an understanding of what violence is.

• Set the tone for the group.

Week 2 – Feelings

• Help children to identify and understand feelings.

• To expand the children’s vocabulary of feelings.

Week 3 – Violence in Families

• Help children talk about the violence they witnessed.

• Validate their experiences

• Reinforce that violence happens in families.

Week 4 – Anger/Conflict Resolution

• Help children begin to understand and manage their own anger

• Provide children with alternative strategies to deal with anger

• Help children learn realistic and effective means of solving problems and resolving conflict

• Help children take responsibility for their choices.

Week 5 – Responsibility for Violence

• Help children learn that responsibility for violence and abuse lies with the person perpetrating the violence.

• Help children understand that they are not responsible for the violence

• Dispel myths around women abuse.

Week 6 – Family Changes

• Provide children with the opportunity to discuss the changes in their family due to the violence they have experienced.

Week 7 – Safety Planning

• To teach children how to be safe and not involve themselves in the violence in their family.

• To establish safe places for children to go in the event of violence.

• Teach children how to call the police.

Week 8 – Sexual Abuse Prevention / Dating Violence

• Educate the children about sexual abuse and promote personal space and boundaries.

• Teach children about who they can talk to in the event of sexual abuse.

• Teach adolescents about violence and abuse in dating relationships.

• Promote empathy and understanding between peers who have experienced abuse in a relationship.

Week 9 – Self Esteem

• To enhance children’s self-esteem and feelings of self worth.

Week 10 – Closure

• To review the group and provide appropriate closure.

• To help children recognize that their actions can make a difference.

Some Statistics on Children Witnessing Abuse

• Children and adolescents who have witnessed their mother being abused are at significantly high risk of physical and sexual abuse by the perpetrator of the woman abuse.

• Children and adolescents who witness woman abuse experience emotional and behavioural problems similar to children who are themselves physically abused.

• Truancy, delinquency, and running away from home are common in children who have witnessed woman abuse. One study of young offenders charged with crimes against people showed that over 50% had been exposed to woman abuse as children.

• Boys who witness their father abusing their mother are at greater risk of becoming an abuser in dating and marital relationships. Violent behaviour is learned and studies show that between 40-60% of men that assault their partners witnessed woman abuse during their childhood.

• Children and adolescents who witness abuse will frequently experience difficulty concentrating as well as behaviour and learning problems such as lower verbal, cognitive, and motor skills. Children and adolescents who have witnessed family violence are often misdiagnosed as suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder, because the questions about witnessing family violence are not asked.

• Children who witness woman abuse frequently experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The symptoms of PTSD include extreme anxiety, fear, irritability, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks about the violence, unpredictable anger outbursts, and avoidance of situations which remind the child of the abuse witnessed.

• Children who have witnessed abuse are at increased risk of showing less empathy and having lower self-esteem, and exhibit more aggression and antisocial as well as fearful and inhibited behaviours.

• Children who live in homes where women are abused demonstrate lower social competence and show more anxiety, aggression, depression, and temperament problems

Children and Youth who witness woman abuse are in need of specialized intervention.

Child Witness Program

• Education group for children that have witnessed domestic violence.

• 10 week group; 1 hour per week.

• Sessions include self esteem, anger management/conflict resolution, family changes, safety planning, responsibility for violence, etc.

• Referrals accepted from outside agencies, parents and guardians.

• We provide a safe space for children to share their story and end the isolation.

• There is no fee for this service.

Concurrent Mother's Group

• Learn the effects of violence on your children.

• Learn new strategies around behavioural issues.

• Learn what your child is learning in their group and how to support them through their journey.

• 10 Week Program; 1 hour per week.

• There is no fee for this service.

  
  

Goals of Children’s Group

The goal of the children’s group is to facilitate the children’s ability to heal from the trauma of experiencing their mothers’ abuse by providing a group process which addresses their needs. By using a process that validates children’s diverse experience and provides optimum opportunity for choice, the group will meet the following objectives:

• Help children to define and understand the complex and interactive nature of the impact of the abuse, both on themselves and on their mothers, while their mothers are engaged in the same process.

• Help children break the isolation of abuse by providing the opportunity to make connections with other children who have had similar experiences while their mothers are interacting with their peers.

• Help children to understand the choices that adults have made while their mothers examine the societal values which impact their parenting.

• Help children learn to deal with the trauma of experiencing woman (mother) abuse while their mothers are learning skills which will facilitate the healing process for themselves and for their children.

• Help children learn to cope with the stress of separation while their mothers examine the practical and emotional impact of separation on themselves and their children.

• Help children learn conflict resolution skills while mothers learn skills in managing their children’s behaviour, including anger management.

• Help children to make links between sex role stereotyping and abusive behaviour while their mothers make the same link.

• Help children learn their rights and develop safety plans while their mothers are learning to make plans for their own and their children’s personal and sexual safety.

• Help children learn to feel good about themselves while their mothers develop skills which facilitate emotional growth and feelings of self worth.

• Help children connect with the wider community through a variety of avenues such as involvement in activities at the community center, homework clubs, etc. While their mothers are learning how to access supportive community resources.

• Help children understand that their mothers are important partners in their healing process.

Symptoms of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence