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Home  : Safety  : At home  : Domestic violence

Domestic violence

A girl covering her ears as her parents fight.

It’s normal and even healthy for adults to argue sometimes. But when one person hurts the other, it becomes domestic violence. Domestic violence is always wrong. The violent person can be a parent or a boyfriend or girlfriend of a parent. The violent person can be male or female.

If you’ve had to see domestic violence, you are not alone. Sadly, domestic violence is common, which means that lots of kids across the country have had to deal with it.

Read about child abuse in our Safety in Relationships section.

If violence is happening in your home:

  • Do not get involved or try to stop the fighting. It’s hard to see someone you love being hurt, but getting involved can cause even more problems. You may get hurt or the fight may become even worse.
  • Go to a safe place. Go to your room, another part of the house, outside, or to a friend or neighbor’s house.
  • Call 911 and report the problem.

 

Content last reviewed September 22, 2009
Page last updated October 31, 2013

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