Unfortunately, domestic violence is all too common.
One avenue that families will use to try to protect themselves against domestic violence is a domestic violence protection order (DVPO), which is an order from a judge that limits the exposure of the people who have experienced domestic violence from the person who is restrained by the order. DVPOs are associated with decreases in both physical and psychological abuse.
Little is known about the types of threats and acts of violence that are made against children who are included in DVPOs. Pediatrics is early releasing an article entitled, “Threats, Violence, and Weapon Use Against Children in Domestic Violence Protection Orders,” by Alice Ellyson, PhD, and colleagues from the University of Washington and the Regional Domestic Violence Firearms Enforcement Unit, King County, Washington (10.1542/peds.2023-062293).
The authors analyzed a random sample of more than 3500 DVPOs that were granted between 2014 and 2020 in King County, Washington; 2029 (58%) of these DVPOs included minors who needed protection.
The results are sobering. DVPOs that included minors were more likely than DVPOs that did not include minors to recount weapon use and firearm possession by the perpetrator. One-third documented threats against the child, and half documented violence against the child. More than two-thirds of the violence involved a weapon.
What can we do with these data? We need to normalize asking about domestic violence when we talk about home safety. We need to familiarize ourselves with resources for these families—both those who stay in the home and those who decide to leave. We need to advocate for training for the judges who decide whether or not to grant DVPOs. The list goes on and on, and it may seem overwhelming, but you can start with reading the article and being aware of this problem as a first step.
