Focus on Domestic Violence

Focus on Domestic Violence

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Sunshine Shoe Box has a mission of helping children experiencing a crisis in their life. We have found a real need with the children that are living in and around domestic violence. The information on this page will help in understanding domestic violence and the affects it has on the innocent children.

Purple Ribbon Symbolism

The symbol of the Domestic Violence Movement is the purple ribbon. The exact history of the purple ribbon is somewhat difficult to pinpoint. Over the years, a number of sources have been credited with originating the use of the purple ribbon as a unifying symbol of courage survival, honor and dedication to ending domestic violence. Across the country, families, and friends of victims have adopted the purple ribbon to remember and honor their loved ones who have lost their lives at the hands of a person they once loved and trusted. Shelters and local battered women’s programs use the purple ribbon to raise awareness about the crime of domestic violence in their communities. The purple ribbon also has been recognized by state legislatures in proclamations commemorating October as National Domestic Violence Month. In addition to the demonstration of support for victims and advocates, the display of purple ribbons throughout a community conveys a powerful message that there’s no place for domestic violence in the homes, neighborhoods, workplaces or schools of its citizens. (Adapted From National Resource Center’s DVAM Tips Tactics and Resources 2001).

Defining Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can be defined generally as "a pattern of assaultive and/or coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as economic coercion, that adults use against their intimate partners to gain power and control in that relationship. Research shows that even when children are not the direct targets of violence in the home, they can be harmed by witnessing the occurrence of such violence. The witnessing of domestic violence can be auditory, visual, or inferred, including cases in which the child witnesses the aftermath of violence, such as cuts, bruises, or broken limbs. Children who witness domestic violence can suffer severe emotional and developmental difficulties similar to children who are the direct victims of abuse.

The effects of Domestic Violence on Children

Domestic violence affects every member of the family, including the children. Family violence creates a home environment where children live in constant fear. Children who witness family violence are affected in ways similar to children who are physically abused.. They are often unable to establish nurturing bonds with either parent. Children are at greater risk for abuse and neglect if they live in a violent home.

Experts agree that the next generation of abusers will come from those who have been abused themselves or have witnessed abuse.
Viewing family violence is traumatizing to a child and is considered to be a form of child abuse.
If a mother is living in domestic violence, she is more likely to abuse her children when becoming angry or stressed.
Approximately 75% of all abusive men watched their fathers battering their mothers.
Hitting or spanking of a child teaches a child that hurting someone you love is acceptable/normal behavior.
Spanking a child for any reason is an easy answer for the parent. This in turn makes hitting an equally easy response to stress or anger for the child.
A child living in an abusive home often feels helpless, hopeless, unable to control his environment. This leads to emotional problems, regression of development, problems at school and in some cases depression. This often leads to substance abuse.
79% of violent children have witnessed violence between their parents. (Family Prevention Fund, 1991 "The Invisible Victim: Children of the War at Home". Source quoted as Lewis, et al. 1983)
Violent juvenile delinquents are four times more likely than are non-violent juveniles to come from homes in which their fathers beat their mothers. (Miller, J. (1989)."Violence By and Against America's Children." Bureau of Juvenile Justice Digest. XVII (12), p.6.)