The Wire

A new report says that children’s witnessing or exposure to domestic violence should be recognised as a form of child abuse. Attorney-General Robert McClelland and Minister for Justice Brendan O’Connor today released the Australian Institute of Criminology Report that highlights the social problems involved with domestic violence. The Family Violence Bill will soon be considered in the Senate and aims to expand the definition of child abuse to include this exposure to family violence. The report recommends government funded programs, but one of Melbourne Hospital’s largest domestic violence initiatives has just run out of funding.