Being in the shadow of violence : A study about children withnessing intimate partner violence

Domestic violence is a phenomenon that occurs in many families. It's a worldwide problem but when it’s brought up the focus tends to lay on the adults that are directly involved. Children are in the shadow of the adult conflict even though several studies point out that children, particularly infants and preschool children, are present while the violence occurs. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate how children experience domestic violence and how it affects their mental health and behaviour. The chosen method is a qualitative literature research for this study. Eight peer reviewed articles were chosen to have credibility and quality in exploring this issue. Systematic literature analysis is used as a method to illustrate how witnessing domestic violence affects the emotional bond of children and their caregivers. In analysing our results, we applied John Bowlby's attachment theory. By understanding children's attachment pattern, it's easier to give them the kind of help they need. Also it will give a bigger picture of a child's behaviour and explain what they are explosured to. This study found out that when children witness domestic violence it affects them negatively both in their childhood and in their adult life. Those children often feel shame and guilt. The Swedish government has decided that professionals should have the right competens to help these children, but also the family. It's a very complex issue because there is not an easy solution for helping these families. Both the victim and the child get emotional and behaviour problems throughout their lives. The perpetrator can use different methods to use violence. This is why it's very important to talk about children who witness domestic violence and spread knowledge about this issue. Children are often in the shadow of their parents' domestic violence and forgotten that they are the victim too.