COURSE OVERVIEW:

Welcome to the Supporting Children Affected by Domestic Violence course. This program has been designed to equip you with the knowledge, insight and practical strategies needed to recognise, respond to and support children whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence. You will examine the nature of abuse, the patterns and dynamics of violent relationships, and the profound ways in which exposure to such environments affects children’s safety, wellbeing, behaviour and development. You will also explore the importance of trauma-informed, culturally responsive support, and the critical role that practitioners, educators and caregivers play in fostering resilience and stability for affected children.

This course begins by defining abuse and domestic violence and outlining what children may hear, see or sense when violence occurs in the home. This learning area explains the broad spectrum of abusive behaviours, including physical, emotional, sexual, psychological and financial abuse, and clarifies how domestic violence is fundamentally rooted in power and control. This section also highlights how children can be directly and indirectly exposed to violence even when they do not witness assaults visually.

The next learning area examines the impact of domestic violence on children’s wellbeing and safety, including the connections between domestic violence, child abuse and animal cruelty. This section explores immediate and long-term developmental consequences, risk pathways and the reasons why multiple forms of violence often coexist in abusive households.

The next learning area explores how children react to violence in the home and who the abusers may be. This learning area addresses the diversity of perpetrators, including considerations relating to male victims, disabled people, honour-based violence, violence affecting women from ethnic minority backgrounds, abuse in teenage relationships and situations where children abuse parents. It also explains the characteristics of abusive home environments and why domestic abuse occurs.

The next learning area introduces the Duluth Domestic Violence Intervention Project, providing insight into the abuser’s perspective, the power-and-control wheel, and the continued risks to women and children during and after separation. This learning area emphasises how the cycle of violence traps families in patterns of control and how children suffer because of the abuser’s behaviours and beliefs.

The next learning area focuses on resilience and risk factors for children living with domestic violence, along with the importance of supportive staff in childcare, preschool and school environments. This section also examines specific developmental impacts, including those affecting babies, toddlers and school-aged children, and clarifies how domestic violence influences early brain development, infant behaviour and cognitive, emotional and social outcomes.

The next learning area explores domestic violence and post-traumatic stress in children, including the pressures placed on children to keep abuse secret, the consequences for social relationships, and the emergence of challenging behaviours. This section highlights how witnessing domestic violence provides children with negative models of conflict resolution and can shape the development of interpersonal skills and emotional regulation.

The next learning area examines the physical and psychological effects of domestic violence on mothers, including impacts during pregnancy, the link between domestic violence and maternal depression, and the consequences for attachment and the mother–baby relationship. This learning area also explains how domestic violence influences parenting practices and why many women do not simply “leave,” including the unique challenges faced by mothers from ethnic minority communities.

By the end of this course you will be able to recognise the dynamics of domestic violence, understand how children experience and internalise violence in the home, identify key risk and resilience factors, provide trauma-informed and culturally sensitive support, respond appropriately to disclosures, work effectively with mothers and caregivers, and contribute to safe, stable and supportive environments that protect children’s wellbeing and promote their long-term recovery.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

·       What is abuse?

·       What is domestic violence?

·       What children may hear or witness during domestic violence?

·       The impact of domestic violence on children’s well-being and safety

·       The links between domestic violence and other forms of child abuse        

·       The links between domestic violence, child abuse and animal cruelty

·       The children’s reactions to violence in the home

·       Who are the abusers? 

·       Domestic violence and male victims

·       Domestic violence and disabled people  

·       The ‘Honour’- based violence

·       The violence against women from ethnic minorities

·       The abuse in teenage relationships

·       Children who abuse parents 

·       The characteristics of an abusive home environment

·       How and why domestic abuse happens?

·       The Duluth Domestic Violence Intervention Project

·       The abusers’ perspectives on domestic violence

·       The continued risks to women and children during and after separation

·       How children suffer because of the abuser?

·       The cycle of violence in families

·       The resilience factors in children

·       The risk factors for children

·       The importance of supportive staff in childcare, pre-schools and schools

·       The impact of domestic violence on babies and young children

·       Domestic violence, pregnancy and the impact on under 5 years of age

·       Domestic violence and early brain development

·       The impact of domestic violence on infant behaviour

·       The impact of domestic violence on school-aged children

·       What a child whose family has fled domestic violence may worry about?

·       Domestic violence and post-traumatic stress in children

·       The pressures to keep the abuse a secret

·       The impact of domestic violence on child’s social relationships

·       Domestic violence and child’s challenging behaviour         

·       How domestic violence provides children with a negative model of conflict resolution?

·       The physical and psychological effects of domestic violence on mothers

·       Domestic violence in pregnancy

·       Domestic violence, maternal depression and attachment

·       The impact of domestic violence on the mother–baby relationship

·       The impact of domestic violence on parenting 

·       The reasons why some women don’t ‘just leave’?

·       Particular issues for mothers from ethnic minority communities and their children

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.