Ruth Evans believes emergency staff may be able to help women who are victims of domestic violence and their children

This study will explore the ways in which children appear to be harmed by witnessing violence between their parents or parental figures. As a paediatric nurse in an A&E department, I am interested in the response of emergency staff to women and children attending the department who have been victims of domestic violence. Children witness violence in a majority of cases, and the effect on children in the relationship is profound (Colgan 1995). It is also important to remember that where domestic violence occurs in a household there is a higher chance of child abuse occurring. Cohen (1997) found in a study that one in three incidents of domestic violence contain evidence of child abuse.