By ALESHA CAPONE
POLICE have warned of an alarming domestic violence spike in the number of children physically assaulting their parents.
Sergeant Jacob Bugeja, from the Wyndham Family Violence Unit, said the number of children turning on their parents was rising.
“Children are being the aggressor towards their parents as well, we are getting a huge influx of that at the moment,” he said.
“We are getting a lot more of those 15 and 16-year-olds who are rebelling against their parents and it turns into a physical altercation.
“It’s usually son against father or daughter against mother, there are not many where two different genders are involved.”
If offenders are underage police are required to contact the Department of Human Services.
Women’s Heath West (WHW) runs a family violence support service across seven municipalities in the western suburbs which employs just two counsellors for child victims.
“More funds are desperately required for children’s counselling in the West,” WHW health promotion worker Ellen Kleimaker said.
WHW belongs to the Western Integrated Family Violence Partnership which is calling on the State Government to immediately fund a minimum four additional children’s counsellors and one specialist adolescent counsellor.
During 2009 and 2010 in Wyndham there were more than 380 children present at more than 1020 family violence incidents.
Across the same period, seven per cent of the 870 family violence incidents in Wyndham were perpetrated by a child or step-child, according to Victoria Police statistics.
“We work part-time and we have the capacity to see about 95 children a year, so we know that there are about 400 severely affected children that we cannot help,” one counsellor told Star.
The WHW workers said at the moment they have 16 families on their counselling waiting list.
“In 2010-2011, overwhelming demand led us to close our waiting list, with up to 16 children waiting for up to four months,” a counsellor said.
“We see children who are so traumatised that they are unable to play.”
Women needing advice can contact WHW during business hours on 9689 9588 or Domestic Violence Victoria on 1800 015 188.
