The abuse Christina endured affected her son Julian who witnessed the violence. See how Safe Horizon helped rebuild their lives, and prevent one of the many effects of domestic violence on children.
*Warning: This domestic violence story contains details of an incident that some readers may find disturbing.
*Christina made a difficult decision to leave her abusive husband when her son *Julian was 8-years-old. Julian told mommy he was scared – he wanted the hitting to stop.
Julian was referring to the violence he saw happen earlier that night when his father assaulted his mother.
When Domestic Abuse Affects Children
Christina was in the middle of cooking dinner when her husband stormed in. He started cursing violently and beat her in front of Julian.
She begged him to stop the violent attack. Julian heard his mother and desperately tried to intervene. Little Julian urged his father to leave mommy alone.
The physical violence stopped temporarily, but Christina made the decision to leave so Julian’s father could cause any more pain.
The decision to leave was not easy. To save both herself and Julian, Christina would have to not only overcome the physical and emotional abuse, but the death threats she would receive from her own husband.
Domestic Violence Hotlines: Answering the Call
Christina called Safe Horizon’s domestic violence hotline. It was one of the 99,000 calls from domestic violence victims in New York we received that year.
Our expert staff answered her call and were able to find placement for her and Julian in one of our eight domestic violence shelters. It was there that both Christina and Julian found the support they needed to move forward.
Christina tells us she is overwhelmed with appreciation for Safe Horizon community members who gave her and Julian the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
* Client names and identifying information have been changed to protect their privacy. Images used are representations of Safe Horizon’s clients.