We’ve heard the words domestic violence. We know what it is, or at the very least, we are aware it exists.

When we say “domestic violence” the words that most typically come to mind are women, abuse, pain, and violence. Children rarely come to mind. Less than 10% of people surveyed think of the children who live in homes where domestic violence occurs. However, children are present in more than half of domestic violence incidents.

Childhood domestic violence (CDV) is domestic violence when children are present. UNICEF calls it “one of the most damaging unaddressed human right violations in the word today.”

CDV changes who they are. The negative effects often last well into adulthood, adversely affecting many of the adults who used to be these children or preventing them from reaching their full potential. Those who’ve experienced CDV are 50 times more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, 6 times more likely to commit suicide, 74 times more likely to commit a violent crime against another or 3 times more likely to repeat the cycle.

There is little awareness of the impact on the children and adults who’ve experienced CDV, which can be devastating and sometimes life-changing. But if you experienced it as a child, you don’t forget.

YOU’RE NOT ALONE. 5 million children experience CDV each year in the U.S. alone and more than 275 million experience it worldwide. It happens everywhere and it affects children of every nationality, religion, race and socioeconomic background all across the country and the world. Researchers estimate that 1 in 6 adults experienced it as children.

Because children who experience CDV are three times more likely to repeat what they learned as adults, the cycle CAN NEVER END unless we focus on the children. This unique new category – CDV – for the first time focuses on this group, many of whom struggle in silence. It shines the light on those impacted and validates their experience, building awareness, support, and solutions to help them overcome the negative effects of CDV and find a different path.

Our ultimate goal is to help children and adults impacted by childhood domestic violence reach their full potential and break the cycle.