90 per cent of children are in the same or the next room when violence occurs so even if they don't see it, they usually overhear it. These experiences can affect them both in the short and the long term.

The emotional effects of witnessing domestic violence are very similar to the psychological trauma associated with being a victim of child abuse.

Some research suggests that it's actually worse for some children to overhear the abuse than it is to see it. Often children's imaginations mean that the can be more traumatised by what they imagine may be happening from what they can hear, than if, for example, they could actually see that their parent was still alive.

For more on this, see our Effects on children section.

Back to What is domestic violence?

This article was last reviewed by Catherine Orr Deas in December 2005.
First published in February 2003.