The impact of domestic violence on mothers and children

Over the last few decades, domestic violence (DV) has been an intense area that profoundly affects numerous life domains for the people involved. Evidence suggests that children and women who experience DV are at increased risk of adverse mental and physical health difficulties. In addition, women and children's health are strongly linked, particularly in the presence of DV. However there is little knowledge about the impact of DV on both women and children. This study, therefore, sought to bring forth knowledge on the topic, examine and explore the effects and impact of DV on mothers and children. A literature review is used to gain a broader understanding on DV. This project also used a library-based approach using qualitative, quantitative and mixed methodology to critically evaluate the findings. Furthermore, within this study a thematic analysis is used for pinpointing, examining and interpreting various aspects within a research topic. The findings indicated that DV had an impact on both women and children. Studies demonstrated that children may become resilient to the exposure of DV however, many studies showed consistent results that children internalise and externalise behaviour. Moreover, the findings of several studies presented women to experience mental difficulties and parental practice problems during and after DV. Furthermore research indicated that DV can impact all races however, stated that BME, Latinos and Hispanic women have higher levels of experiencing DV compared to white women. Finally, these findings have a potential to increase awareness on DV and its impact on women and children and the importance of healthcare professionals acknowledging the signs of DV