Child DV call

The call recorded in the following video is used in a lot of social work training and a lot of counselling courses. It’s a call that was recorded in the 1990s where a girl is calling the emergency services on 911 in America (999 in the UK, 000 in Australia), because of a domestic violence incident where you can hear her reaction to the situation as it is unfolding.

It’s a very challenging call to listen to as it is quite distressing, but it really helps us to understand the amount of trauma that some of these young people have experienced. When we talk about how some of the violence isn’t necessarily used to get what they want, a large portion of it is trauma-related and this call really highlights how impacted their functioning is.

Watch the video below, then use the questions below to write a reflection in the comments, if you are comfortable doing so.

⚠️ WARNING: this video may be difficult or confronting for some learners. Consider your own capacity to deal with the content before watching. You can skip over this video without disadvantaging your overall understanding of this topic ⚠️

1. What is your personal reaction to hearing the call?
2. How would that environment impact mum’s ability to parent and general family functioning?
3. Describe what the child’s worldview might be.