Three resources were produced using information from the Best Evidence project. All are available for download.

What About Me!
Seeking to Understand the Child's View of Violence in the Family

Learning to Listen, Learning to Help:
Understanding Woman Abuse and its Effects on Children

Helping Children Thrive:
Supporting Women Abuse Survivors as Mothers

Children Exposed to Family Violence

...best evidence to inform better practice...

This project was funded by the National Crime Prevention Centre, of the Department of Justice, Ottawa.

Project Description

This study involved a large-scale literature review of material publish since 1991 on the topic of children's exposure to family violence: prevalence, impact, effects, and programs. Excluded from examination is material that relates to the response of the courts (e.g., custody and access disputes) and children protection interventions. Emphasis is placed on highlighting the most methodologically rigourous studies to cull the best evidence now available and identify gaps in knowledge that can inform directions for future research. The emphasis is on making recommendations for practitioners about intervention strategies. These observations were summarized in the report called What About Me!

Resource Pages

These three pages will assist those wanting to read about and explore this topic further:

A Bibliography of 391 Sources of Information used in the "Best Evidence" review

A List of Program Manuals and related articles

Children and Domestic Violence Resource Page (links to all material produced by the Centre on this topic)

Final Report

The final report summarizing the "best evidence" is called WHAT ABOUT ME!: Seeking to Understand the Child's View of Violence in the Family. It is available for download.

Parenting Support for Mothers

Anyone looking for help with parenting after a violent relationship can find helpful information in Helping Children Thrive / Supporting Woman Abuse Survivors as Mothers: A Resource to Support Parenting. This 76-page resource, developed with funding from the Ontario Women's Directorate, is written for service providers assisting women who have survived woman abuse. These services may be offered in the violence against women sector, or through children's mental health centres, in child protection settings, or any other place where women seek assistance for their children. Material addresses the needs of abused women as mothers, how abusive men parent, how abusive men affect family dynamics, effects of power and control tactics on mothers, the potential impact of woman abuse on children of different ages, and strategies used by young people to cope with violence in their homes. Guidance on parenting children exposed to violence is also offered. Forty-two pages are designed as handouts for women, to be distribued as an adjunct to individual or group interventions on woman abuse or on parenting. Also available in French.

Children and Domestic Violence Resource Page

In one place, you can find all the Centre's resources on children exposed to family violence, most of which are available for download at no cost. For example, see all the resources generated from our "Best Evidence to Inform Better Practice" Project including a bibliography of the almost 400 sources used in that review and a list of available program manuals. We also list all our training resources and research reports. We also have some PowerPoint presentations from various conference presentations and workshops. Check back periodically for updates.