Domestic abuse charity says children are overlooked
Fear Free are calling for more support for children impacted by domestic abuse
Last updated 1st May 2025
Free Free, which operates in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Swindon and Devon says children who are in domestic abuse situations are often overlooked.
When thinking about domestic abuse relationships the focus is often on the couple and parents who are in the situation rather than also looking at how children are impacted.
This is something that Fear Free say is happening too often with the lack of funding for services and not enough services aimed at supporting young people.
They say the children are often thought about in the context of who they live with but are not supported further by some organisations.
CEO of the charity, Debbie Beadle, told Greatest Hits Radio: “when you’re supporting a woman sometimes through any sort of situation of abuse.
“They might have their children with them, at appointments and things like that.
“It’s a real disruption to children’s lives.
They may be moving schools, suddenly they may have a parent who they’re not seeing anymore.”
She added “There’s kind of a lack of funding often for children’s services.
“Definitely in my experience in the sector has been that when there’s been cuts it’s been the children’s teams that have gone.
“We’re lucky at Fear Free that we have a children’s team and have dedicated services.
“But it’s also quite small compared to the demand.”
It's after a report was published by the domestic abuse commissioner stated that the Domestic Abuse Act became law recognising children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right for the very first time However, it still remains unclear how this legal recognition is being implemented to ensure children get the support they deserve.
A government spokesperson said:
“This government inherited a system that is failing to meet the needs of the country’s most vulnerable children and we welcome this report that puts a spotlight on this important issue.
"We are introducing the biggest piece of safeguarding legislation in a generation, including improved information sharing between agencies by expanding multi agency protection teams, and more widely are taking action to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we are also doubling council funding to over £500 million for early intervention so tens of thousands of families approaching crisis get better support from family help workers to stop problems from escalating and help ensure children are in safe loving homes.”