Witnessing domestic violence has many evidenced long-term impacts on children and youth, like emotional trauma and delays in language, social, and cognitive development. More than half of the mothers who experience abuse report that their child witnessed them being harmed, and in Canada, each year an average of 800,000 children witness a woman being abused. In fact, children who witness violence often grow up to be victims of violence or abusers themselves, because they receive the message that violence is an acceptable and normal way to resolve conflicts.
These troubling statistics are why Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter invests so much in caring for children and youth, because we recognize that their needs are distinct from the needs of their mothers, and we believe in the importance of early intervention to break the cycle of abuse.
Our highly trained Child and Youth counsellors are dedicated to supporting children who have witnessed or experienced violence. We’d like to introduce you to our incredibly talented team of Child and Youth Counsellors at Ernestine’s – Iliana, Kamara, and Samantha. We sat down with them to learn more about their work at Ernestine’s...
