South Ayrshire Multi Agency Partnership

Information For Young People

Domestic Abuse

When an adult deliberately hurts or frightens their partner or ex-partner it's called domestic abuse. It can be physical harm, such as hitting, or emotional harm, like saying cruel things. Unfortunately many women experience domestic abuse and it can also affect their children.

Children can be affected indirectly - they may see or hear their parent being abused.
Children can also be affected directly - they may be abused by their parent or their parent's partner.

If you are living, or have lived, with domestic abuse in your life, you are not to blame and you are not alone. Perhaps as many as 1 in 3 children and young people in Scotland have experienced it too.

Please don't suffer in silence. Think about sharing your problem - talking helps.

Here's what some young people have said:

"Everything is bad but when you get used to it you just think "oh no I am coming home to the same old stuff all the time fighting etc"

"If you struggle then just get a friend or even a worker to help you, tell the person how you feel."

"When my mum made my dad's dinner if he didn't like it he would sometimes smash the plate off the wall."

"My dad abused my mum it was domestic abuse and it wasn't nice so after a while I couldn't find my courage and he used to hit me. I was afraid to speak but I got given my own worker."

"When I got in touch with Women's Aid I got my courage back. I could say how I felt. I didn't have to keep things in anymore because my worker was always there to help me."