Analysis Of The Documentary Domestic Violence And Children

The documentary Domestic Violence and Children details of the many consequences and effects that children who are exposed to domestic violence face. Many of the children suffer long lasting symptoms due to the devastating events that they witness. The documentary gives insight to the perplexed lives of those involved while showing the personal accounts of the children and their mothers.
Before viewing this documentary I was aware that domestic violence could have it effects on the children in the family as well as the adults involved but I definitely did not know of the extremes and their commonalities. My initial reaction to this documentary was being completely shocked by the in-depth and long term effects of the children themselves were faced with from being exposed to domestic violence.
Even though they are receiving treatment, for many of the children in the documentary the horror of the events they witnessed will live with them forever.
One of the challenges they have is that most of them suffer from behavioral changes that are associated with PTSD. The changes in behavior range from them becoming very passive and almost zombie-like to becoming easily angered and more aggressive. Another issue is that with being exposed to this type of behavior at such a young age many of the children begin to show signs of one day becoming the aggressor themselves. For example one of the young boys in the video has not only been kicked out of school and gotten into many fights, but he has went as far as physically assaulting someone with a brick. This is in no way considered normal childhood play and without the help of the Child Witness to Violence Project the young boy was destined for a troubled future. On the other hand the documentary spoke of other kids who were the exact opposite. These children suffered from physiological issues in which they were constantly in
fear.
Many of the children told stories of how they are not able to rest properly at night due to the constant worry that the aggressor (father or step father in the video) would return to kill or harm the whole family. Of all the specific issues of this video the one about the little girl and her Christmas list stuck out the most because it was one that I could personally relate my childhood to. The fact that she did not have a request for more dolls or other girlish things near the top of the list as I and many other young girls did during childhood was devastating. Instead of a Christmas list filled with childhood innocence hers started with the distressing pleas to never see her father again.
If I had the chance to speak with the fathers and mothers of this video or other fathers and mothers battling similar situations, I would tell them to always think about how this is affecting their children. I would explain to the fathers that their sons and/or daughters are watching their actions and witnessing what is going on in their own family. I would take the time out to explain that by the exposure to the type of behavior they are displaying it can unintentionally placing their own child in harm’s way.
Exposure domestic violence not only increases the chance of a boy growing up to become the aggressor but also that a young girl will grow up a fall victim to the same types of violence. For the mothers in the video that took charge and made the decision to get away, I would applaud them. For example, Betsy Pagan, the mother whose children witnessed her being stabbed. I would make sure to express to her how strong I thought she was for doing what was best for her children.
Through this documentary I have learned that domestic violence is a very life changing event and it does not only change the lives of the aggressor and the direct victim. I learn that those who witness this horrible act, often the children, can also be considered victims even though they may not be the direct focus of the abuse. These traumatic events follow the children throughout the rest of their lives but with the help of organizations like the Child Witness to Violence Project the road to normality is made slightly easier.