HH DVAP Children's Services

The domestic violence children’s service offers one to one support to children and young people between the ages of 6 to 16 who have experienced domestic abuse and live within the East Riding. It may be that you have overheard, witnessed or been involved in incidents of domestic abuse. You may be upset by the effect that the abuse has had upon your family, or it may be that you are a young person who is in an abusive relationship who requires help and support.

What is domestic violence and abuse?
Domestic violence and abuse happens when one person hurts or bullies another person who is or was their partner or who is in the same family. It can happen between people who are going out together, living together, have children together or are married to each other. It can happen when people live together or separately. People use domestic abuse to control other people. 

Domestic abuse can also happen after a relationship has finished. Although domestic abuse happens mostly between adults, children and young people can be affected by the abuse that they see and hear, and they can be hurt or bullied as part of abuse between adults. Young people may also experience abuse from their own boy/girlfriends. We offer a group work programme for teenage abuse called Escape The Trap.

Domestic abuse can take place in different forms:

Emotional - this can include constantly putting a person down. Constantly checking where someone is or stopping someone from seeing friends or family
Physical - this can include hitting, pushing, kicking, pinching, throwing, smashing things or making threats to hurt someone
Sexual - this can include rape or making someone do sexual things that they don’t want to
Financial - this can include not giving someone any money, taking all their money from them or checking what someone spends their money on. It may also include stopping or not allowing someone to work.
If someone in your family is abusive or you are in an abusive relationship, remember it is not your fault. Remember that you are not alone and that there are people that can help you and your family. Everyone has the right to feel safe. 

The Women's Aid website provides further guidance and help for people suffering domestic violence.