Back 2 School 2018
Back 2 School 2018
The new year has commenced and the children are heading back to school but for the one out of every four Australian children living in a house of domestic or family violence the journey back to school can be fraught with extreme anxiety and resource challenges.
Back to school doesn't end for RizeUp in January, we are funding children back into new schools every month. Can you help this month?
We work with specialist services who report that many of the children they refer through to RizeUp for support come to them below the academic average ability for their age due in no small part to the devastation of violence that has wreaked havoc in their small lives.
The impact of domestic violence on children and young people is enormous. Not only do they face daily challenges just living in a home where they are faced with the violence but they have very little chance of being able to successfully and independently navigate their school life.
Children who live in homes where there is domestic violence grow up in an environment that is unpredictable, filled with tension and anxiety and dominated by fear. This can lead to significant emotional and psychological trauma, similar to that experienced by children who are victims of child abuse. Instead of growing up in an emotionally and physically safe, secure, nurturing and predictable environment, these children are forced to worry about the future, they try to predict when it might happen next and try to protect themselves and their siblings.
Often getting through each day is the main objective so there is little time left for fun, relaxation or planning for the future. The new year has commenced and the children are heading back to school but for the one out of every four Australian children living in a house of domestic or family violence the journey back to school can be fraught with extreme anxiety and resource challenges.
Children living with domestic violence suffer emotional and psychological trauma from the impact of living in a household that is dominated by tension and fear. These children will see their mother threatened, demeaned or physically or sexually assaulted. They will overhear conflict and violence and see the aftermath of the violence such as their mother's injuries and her traumatic response to the violence.
Children and young people's reactions to domestic violence
* Self-blame
* Helplessness
*Grief
*Ambivalence
*Fear
*Dread
*Terror
*Worry
*Sadness
*Shame
*Anger
*Numbness
How domestic violence impacts on children
*Poor concentration
*Agression
*Hyperactivity
*Disobedience
*Disturbed sleep, nightmares
*Withdrawal, low self esteem,
* Showing no emotion (spaced out)
*Always on edge, wary,
*Fantasise about normal life
*Pessimism about the future
*Depression
*Anxiety
*Abuse of parents
*Take on a caretaker role prematurely, trying to protect their mother
*Poorly developed communication skills
* Parent-child conflict
*Enter marriage or a relationship early to escape the family home
*Embarrassed about family
*Shame
*Poor self-image
*Eating disorders
*Low academic achievement
*Dropping out from school
*Low self-esteem
*Staying away from home
*Leaving home early
*Running away from home
*Feeling isolated from others
*Violent outbursts
*Participating in dangerous risk-taking behaviours to impress peers
*Alcohol and substance abuse
*Difficulty communicating feelings
*Nightmares
*Experiencing violence in their own dating relationships
*Physical injuries when they try to intervene to protect mother
*Suicide
Often the behavioural and emotional impacts of domestic and family violence will improve when children and their mothers are safe, the violence is no longer occurring and they receive support and specialist counselling. This where you can come in!
Please help us to break the cycle for our next Generation by supporting the Aussie Kids displaced due to Domestic and Family Violence.
Please help us to ensure that all the children living in Refuge or who are connected with specialist crisis services can return back or start at a fresh school with everything that they need and they’re not disadvantaged by lack of resources because of the violence that has devastated their lives.
By donating a lot or a little to help us reach our target will ensure that the children starting their new school will be better equipped to navigate the challenges set before them.
Fundraising for
RizeUp Australia
RizeUp stands as a nationwide organisation dedicated to partnering with front-line agencies and the community to provide tangible, life-changing support for families affected by domestic and family violence.
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