New data indicates an estimated 187,750 infants under two years of age are present when police are called out to domestic abuse incidents in England. Workers in the field are concerned.
“Living in a home where domestic abuse happens can have a serious impact on a child’s mental and physical health, as well as their behaviour,” said Vicky Nevin, policy manager for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
The charity would like to see the government take a whole-family approach to tackling domestic abuse, with babies included.
“The government could demonstrate this by investing in joined-up early years services in local communities so that every family knows where they can go to for help and so that trained professionals can refer those experiencing domestic abuse to the right support services before problems escalate,” she added.
According to the Office for National Statistics data, 1,444,225 domestic abuse incidents are annually reported to the police in England. A freedom of information request by the For Baby’s Sake Trust’s found an infant was present in around 13% of those incidents, which equates to an estimated 187,750 babies. The charity’s calculation is based on responses from 15 police forces, serving about a third of the nation’s population. The request was sent to 39 constabularies.
“This data is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of babies’ experience of domestic abuse,” said Lauren Seager-Smith, chief executive officer of The For Baby’s Sake Trust. “More work is needed to speak up for society’s youngest citizens, and their parents.”
