Every child has the right to live free from violence, as enshrined in Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), effective since September 1990. This article mandates that States take measures to protect children from all forms of violence. When domestic violence and abuse occur in adult relationships, children in the family are directly affected. Domestic violence impacts every aspect of a child’s life, including their health, wellbeing, and development from conception through to adulthood. Children are not mere bystanders, they experience the violence and abuse first hand.

Domestic violence and abuse present some of the most challenging situations for parents and children. However, support is available for children, young people, and families. Barnardos works with hundreds of children each year who are impacted by domestic violence and abuse in their homes. Despite this, their voices are often missing from public debate and discussion. In collaboration with domestic abuse services across Ireland, Barnardos has asked children to share, in their own words, what domestic violence means to them.