Wow. As Executive Director of Court Watch, a lot of articles come across my desk. But this one is a stunner.
I’m just reading an article that analyzes data from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence. The authors find that more than 1/3 of youth who witnessed partner violence had also been maltreated in the past year, compared with 8.6% of non-witnesses. More than half of youth who witnessed partner violence had been maltreated in their lifetimes.
These findings make coordination between Montgomery County’s domestic violence service programs and Child Protective Services all the more critical. Screening for all types of family violence is important in both domestic violence and child abuse programs.
More judicial education is needed on the strong overlap between intimate partner violence and child abuse and neglect.
See Hamby, Sherry & David Finkelhor et al. The overlap of witnessing partner violence wtih child maltreatement and other victimizations in a nationally representative survey of youth. Child Abuse and Neglect. Vol. 34, Issue 10, October 2010. Pages 734-741.