Children of all ages, sadly experience emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in their homes and communities. And without the support of capable adults, they would not be able to heal and move forward from those experiences.
Teachers are a part of those capable adults since they spend most of the day with their students. However, not all of them know what to do when a student is experiencing domestic violence or how to explain to them what domestic violence actually is. If that is your case, you may want to encourage your students to read some domestic violence essay examples. Many people write essays or papers on this topic, so by researching and reading an essay about it, students will get the base knowledge about this problem. And most importantly, every single one of those essay samples is written sensitively and even provides information’s about how to avoid those unwanted situations.
Although, teachers play a dynamic role in recognizing when something is wrong, providing crucial support for healing from the trauma and putting a stop to it. So, they still need to be talking to children about domestic violence, know how to identify it, and know what to do or say when that is found in those situations.
Talking to children about abuse
Adults often struggle with how much information about domestic violence they should share with children. So, in order to do that properly and not traumatize them, you can find the following steps helpful:
- Think about a way to present the information to the children in a way that they will understand. Explaining domestic violence is not easy, so the amount of details that you should share depends on the age and development stage of every child individually.
- Always be straightforward to the students. And ask them what their thoughts about domestic violence are and explain to them why domestic violence is bad.
- Ask them if they have any questions. Kids often stop asking questions when they have enough information. So that way, you will know if they need to learn something else or retain yourself if they have enough information.
- If you are in a situation when you need to talk to a kid that is a victim of domestic violence. Make sure that you talk to them about what happened sensitively, listen to everything they have to say, and reassure them that violence is not okay. Ensure them they are important to you and that they can come to talk to you and ask you for help anytime.
How to recognize if a student is a victim of domestic violence
Signs of domestic abuse like physical marks are easy to identify. However, other signs can be easily overlooked. Domestic abuse can affect everyone differently and can happen to everyone regardless of their financial, social, or educational status. And many of the victims actually will try to cover up what is happening to them. But those people could always use some help, so let’s see how you can recognize if your students are suffering from abuse.
Physical Signs of Domestic Abuse
If someone is abused physically, they will have bruises or physical injuries consistent with being choked, punched, or knocked down, and they will have an inconsistent and weak explanation for those injuries. Most of the people suffering from physical abuse will also do their best to cover up the signs with clothes, makeup, or sunglasses.
Emotional Signs of Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse can also cause serious emotional damage, creating a sense of hopelessness, despair, and helplessness. Abusers can make children believe that they will never escape their control. So, they may be constantly alert and never relaxed. Other signs of emotional abuse may include developing an alcohol or drug problem, low self-esteem, agitation, anxiety, depression, attempting suicide, etc.
Controlling
Domestic violence is all about control, so if you notice a student being extremely controlled, it may be a sign that they are abused at some level. Here are some examples: asking for permission to go anywhere, constantly called and tracked by their abuser to know where they are, having little to no money available to them, etc.
Conclusion
If you doubt that some of your students are suffering from domestic violence, do something about it. Whether it is a college student or a first-grade student, they all deserve the same help! Make sure that you do everything in your power for that person to heal and cope with the physical and emotional scars. If you can’t do it alone, you can use the help from police services, social workers, child protective services, therapists, or any other experts who can influence the healing process for students who suffer from domestic violence.
Meta Description: Sadly, many children are exposed to domestic violence at their homes, which can cause them long-term health problems. Teaching them about domestic violence and talking about it may be out of huge help.
