Officials: Children Witnessing More Domestic Violence (Kansas City, Missouri)

If you were to take this article at face value, you'd get the idea that DOMESTIC VIOLENCE was some vague and abstract nemesis that was striking people down dead. Funny how we can talk about these two people or those two people dying in their homes as if they had been infected by the bubonic plague. What we have here is an article that doesn't so much talk about domestic violence as talk around it. Notice that there are virtually no perpetrators here. All this dying just sort of, well, happened. You would never know that at least 90% of murder-suicides are committed by men and fathers, would you?

Officials: Children Witnessing More Domestic Violence

POSTED: 6:17 pm CDT April 20, 2010
UPDATED: 7:04 pm CDT April 20, 2010

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A disturbing trend is starting to arise in the metro as more and more children are witnesses to deadly domestic violence.

In all these cases, children were in the home when it happened and now the people who work closely with domestic violence victims say it's more important than ever to stop the violence.

On Monday night, the 3800 block of East 60th Terrace was the scene of the Kansas City's latest homicide.

"Our hearts go out to the family that will feel the effects of this incident," said Sgt. Stacey Graves, of the Kansas City Police Department.

Graves said a man and a woman died inside the house. While investigators are still trying to figure out what led up to the shooting and who pulled the trigger, what is known is that a child was in the middle of it all.

"It's a difficult situation, really," Graves said. "There was one other person in the house during the time of the incident. There was a juvenile in the residence when the incident occurred."

Just last week, a teen was killed and her father committed suicide in rural Jackson County. And in Lawson, Mo., a man and woman died while a 1-year-old was in the house.

"It's just a tragic situation," said Lisa Fleming, chief operating officer of the Rose Brooks Center. "It's going to take the whole community and our resources to come together and address this."

The Rose Brooks Center works with victims of domestic abuse. Fleming said she has seen a rising trend when it comes to the number of women and children who need help.

"The long-term impact on children will be more likely to experience anxiety," Fleming said. "Depression and they are going to be socially isolated. It's hard for them to have someone over to play when there is domestic violence at home."

Fleming said she works with police and the state, and they all have experienced a larger workload lately as they try to make sure the kids are placed in a safe environment and get the counseling that they need.

Fleming said there are more kids out there who might need help.

"We are reaching out through our outreach program, but there are so many more who need our services," she said.

The Division of Children's Services said it makes every effort to find a relative or kinship placement for children who cannot safely remain in their homes. They said if that can't happen, the division's ultimate goal is to find the best fitting foster home for each child.