Children experience domestic violence in their homes “in their spinning heads and their knotted tummies”, a leading expert on the issue has warned as reports of incidents soar during the pandemic. Gardaí and domestic violence organisations have reported an increase in calls since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic of up to 30 per cent. “Children don’t need to be awake, they don’t need to be in the room, they don’t need to be directly hit to experience fear and anxiety,” she said. Speaking at a recent webinar hosted by Tusla, Dr Holt said the majority of homes where there was domestic violence contained children. She said children under five were most likely to witnesses the violence, and children’s presence increased the risk for domestic violence.

Source: The Irish Times November 29, 2020 14:37 UTC