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After lunch the speaker was Nicky Road who dealt with the educational needs of children affected by domestic violence. Kids who experience domestic violence are fearful of leaving their mothers or in severe case have to care for their mothers after a violent episode. When the parent eventually sums up the courage to leave they have to go to a number of refuges until they feel safe that the violent partner will not find them.  They are in a cycle of interrupted learning and schools have a responsibility to support interrupted learners. Primary schools are better at coping with this problem as they don’t have the constraints of league tables.
 

As the government is introducing a bill on domestic violence and the findings of the conference will be forwarded, we had four workshops dealing with different issues: -

-Domestic violence within the ethnic communities

-Domestic violence and the courts

-Domestic violence within the school setting

-Domestic violence and refuges.

 

I attended the workshop about the courts and how current practices can be improved on. We came up with three proposals.

 

1)     The UK to ratify the UN Convention.

2)     One Stop Courts, like those in New York and which are currently being piloted in Croydon, specialising in domestic violence. The child would have his or her own lawyer, CAFCASS worker and if applicable Family Support Worker.

3)     Avoid delay. If Court proceedings go on for over a year children’s memories can become distorted. Children have rights and deserve to be heard. Delay only manifests the problem in their minds.

 
So, in summary, it was agreed that across the country there are a lot of worthwhile projects being carried out which tackle the issue of domestic violence, however, the funding for these programs is often short term.

This is a huge problem.

 Everyone i.e. government, courts, education, mediators, contact centres, Women’s Aid, family support workers, and child care workers should be working together to tackle domestic violence once and for all so that the abused children of the present don’t become abusers in the future.

 

E. O’Neill