|
Abstract
|
The Editorial ''A last taboo in public health''1
in The Lancet Public Health rightly demands attention to children who have lost a parent due to "physical illness, suicide, accident, or natural disaster". Children who are bereaved due to violence certainly also need attention. Children bereaved by domestic violence are particularly overlooked. At least one in three homicides of women are by current or former intimate partners. Many have children. Women might also kill a partner, often in the context of their own abuse. To say that the lives of children bereaved by domestic homicide are deeply disrupted is an understatement: suddenly, they have lost one and, in many cases, both parents, their home, and their identity. Many have witnessed the homicide or its aftermath. Often, they have experienced unaddressed domestic violence leading up to the homicide. A multitude of social, educational, physical, and mental health outcomes have been reported in the few studies done with children bereaved by domestic homicide. Many children grow up knowing stigma and disenfranchised grief, and are unable to make decisions that have long-lasting impacts on their lives. Considering the impact of domestic homicide on families globally, the resources available to children bereaved in this way are surprisingly few. We want to highlight the lack of long-term mental health services available to children dealing with the so-called double taboo of bereavement and domestic homicide...
Language: en |