Women who are victims of domestic abuse are soon to be given the wherewithal to lock themselves away when threatened. This has a glimmer of logic, but surely it would be safer and cheaper to give the police the resources so they could lock up the perpetrators instead?
Men who attack their partners are quite mad, and so logical defences will not make any difference. And we must not forget about the children, especially if they are babies or toddlers.
Children are traumatised by witnessing violence, and like all trauma, the long-term effect is greater the younger they are. There are a great many consequences to seeing your mother hurt, such as emotional distress, sleep difficulties and night waking, physical complaints ,a regressive loss of skills, aggressive or withdrawn behaviour, fear of being alone, temper tantrums and various post - traumatic stress symptoms. Anyone who observes a cluster of such changes in a child should consider that domestic violence is a possible cause, one that needs to be addressed promptly.
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