In 2005, the Calgary police responded to 11,600 domestic abuse-related calls in our city. 42% of those calls reported children in the home at the time of the complaint. Of the calls that required police dispatch, the most common type of abuse was physical abuse followed by financial and threats.

Probably the most horrific of these experiences is a child watching his father physically assault his mother. Until the last decade, children who witnessed domestic violence were not considered to be in need of special emotional support or protection. Today, research tells us that witnessing domestic violence can have devastating affects on a child’s psychological, social and behavioural development, sometimes with lasting consequences well into adulthood.

Domestic violence can happen to women of all races, ages, socio-economic classes and educational backgrounds. Still, it is one of the most misunderstood crimes in our city, because it takes place behind closed doors. You probably know someone who is being abused, because 1 in 4 women will experience some form of domestic abuse in her lifetime. Abuse can take on many forms including isolation, coercion, and threats as well as emotional, sexual and physical abuse, often after years of intimidation and control. And the longer a woman stays in the relationship, the longer and more intense the abuse can become. If she leaves, her chances of being murdered by the abuser are greatly increased.

Most likely she has young children to consider. 70% of women who go to emergency shelters have children under the age of nine. And the younger the child, the greater the risk to their critical development stages. Continuous exposure to violence in the home can alter an infant’s developing central nervous system. Outcomes can include developmental delays, elevated levels of anxiety and irritability, sleep disorders, and excessive screaming. Pre-schoolers in particular, who relate most events in their lives directly to themselves, often feel responsible for their mother’s abuse. These children can regress developmentally and suffer bed-wetting, excessive clinging, nightmares and insomnia.

The YWCA of Calgary offers unique programs for children exposed to domestic violence, with specific attention to those families seeking safety through our emergency women’s shelter, the YWCA Sheriff King Home. Counsellors encourage children to express their feelings through "play therapy," a non-threatening medium that allows distressed children to work through the trauma associated with domestic violence. Programs are designed to support mothers in abusive relationships, by providing support to their children, so the entire family can focus on safety and healing.

The YWCA of Calgary is committed to social change in our community and strives to break the cycles of abuse, homelessness and poverty. We believe that when women and their families are healthy, the community is healthy. But we cannot do it alone. The YWCA continues to suffer from a lack of sustainable funding and donor support.

We invite all Calgarians to stand up with us to end domestic violence, homelessness, and poverty. Invest in the YWCA of Calgary and strengthen the social fabric of our community.