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Archives > Summer 1999 articles
"Here to Listen"...A Brief Look at BC Programs for Children
Who Witness Abuse
The BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses, which has been
in existence since 1984, is an umbrella organization representing
95 transition houses and women's support associations and
56 "Children Who Witness Abuse" Counselling programs.
The organization's mandate to promote the prevention of violence
against women is fulfilled through public education, advocacy,
training and other forms of direct support to member associations.
Linking services with the direct services of members ensures
that battered women and their children receive the support
they need regardless of where they live in the province.
Since 1992, the Society has offered "Children Who Witness
Abuse" (CWWA) therapeutic programs for children and training
for counsellors wishing to help children exposed to domestic
abuse. These programs provide children with someone to listen
to them, to believe in them, to find some way to end the violence
and to start making them feel safe. Left untreated, children's
anxiety and fear can breed self-destructive behavior which
can have far-reaching developmental effects. Therefore, the
support of trained counsellors is essential to the recovery
of these children.
The CWWA counsellor training program is designed to impart
the knowledge and tools necessary for children to cope with
their agonizing experiences. Training modules cover such topics
as the effects of witnessing violence on child development
and counselling skills and planning for group and individual
intervention. Other topics include cross-cultural programs
to combat family violence and conflict resolution strategies.
"Success" is measured differently for each child
who participates in a "Children Who Witness Abuse"
program. Pre- and post-program questionnaires and evaluations
completed by caregivers and children enable counsellors to
track changes in behavior such as an increased ability to
identify and address feelings, or learning that reacting with
violence to anger and frustration is not OK. Yet, sometimes
"success" may be less obvious. For example, a child
who has been "shut down" emotionally and very quiet
over the course of the ten week group process may become more
outspoken, even angry. Other children may behave the opposite-moving
from being aggressively outspoken to allowing time and space
for other children in group to state their feelings and needs.
Such changes in a child's behavior may prove challenging or
puzzling to caregivers. By being available to answer questions
and give information to caregivers, CWWA counsellors assist
them in providing support and encouragement to their children
to "try out" new behaviors in positive ways, while
providing assurance that the children are not simply "cheeky"
or "moody".
For all children entering the program, exploring issues of
safety and developing a safety plan is very important. In
this way, children are encouraged to identify some positive
things they can do if they are feeling unsafe. Also of great
value is the knowledge that each child gains through interacting
with others in a group setting: the understanding that he
or she is not alone-other children have had similar experiences,
feelings and family issues. This realization can be enormously
comforting to children who often have come to feel that they
and their families are somehow "weird" and shameful.
Care is taken at all times to validate the love that children
often express toward both parents. They are helped to understand
how we can love someone and yet at the same time "hate"
their behavior. This approach can go a long way to helping
children sort out the confusion they experience when they
witness one parent hurting another. In addition, children
learn that they are not responsible for the violence in their
family, nor is it up to them to stop it. It's a "grown-up"
problem, and there are places for parents to go for help.
Demand for the CWWA program has grown. Statistics gathered
during 1997 and 1998 by the Ministry of Women's Equality indicate
that over 8,000 children and 3,000 caregivers received counselling,
while another 2,900 children and more than 1,700 caregivers
remained on wait lists for services. Indications from individual
counsellors suggest that for many programs, the wait lists
are longer than ever. Unfortunately, a program for children
who witness abuse is frequently the only free service of any
kind offered specifically to children within a community.
Cutbacks in funding have placed CWWA counsellors under added
pressure to provide ever increasing services with ever diminishing
resources. Yet, the importance of these programs and the dedication
of individual counsellors and agencies can be readily evidenced
in a story told to me by a counsellor from a remote part of
the province. She had recently returned from her holidays,
only to find a small girl waiting to see her. In the course
of the session, she recounted a particularly disturbing incident
of violence directed at both her and her mother and finished
by saying, "Then dad just laughed and said he'd throw
the sink at me, too, but it's bolted to the wall." When
she asked him if she had told anyone else, she said no. "You
know," she said to me, "I just thought to myself,
what would this little girl do if there was no one here to
listen?" Indeed.
Melody Augustine is the Program Assistant to
the Coordinator for Chidren's Services at the BC/Yukon Society
of Transition Houses.
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