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Towards a richer understanding of school-age children’s experiences of domestic violence: The voices of children and their mothers

Millions of children are exposed to domestic violence. How children negotiate and make sense of living with domestic violence is still under-researched. This study sought to capture the dual-perspectives of school-aged children and their mothers, to develop a richer understanding of children’s experiences of domestic violence, using a community-based sample. A qualitative research design was employed, with interpretative phenomenological analysis used to interpret the data. Five school-aged children and three of their mothers participated in the study. Two master themes are discussed from the analysis of the children’s perspective: domestic violence through the eyes of children; and learning from children’s experiences. Two master themes are discussed from the analysis of the mothers’ perspective: reflecting on the child in the context of domestic violence; and learning from mothers: insights, support and services. The crucial importance of the mother-child relationship in shaping children’s experience of domestic violence was illustrated in both the perspectives; a finding which may have important implications for the development of interventions. It was also evident that children as young as eight were able to powerfully articulate their experiences of domestic violence.