Swiss young people’s experience of living with parental intimate partner violence and other adversities

Abstract

In Switzerland, approximately one in five children experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their parents’ relationship. The aim of this article is to discover what it means to grow up in a home with IPV, so that professionals understand this experience from children’s perspectives. In 2022, we conducted 20 individual semi-structured interviews with adolescents and young adults who had lived with parental IPV while minors and whose parent had attended a Swiss clinical forensic service as a consequence of IPV. Semi-structured interviews, supported by the use of life history calendars, covered all major areas of their life since birth. A thematic analysis was carried out on the interview transcripts. As well as physical violence, participants identified psychological, sexual and economic IPV. Their experience was usually measured in years. They described being very involved during and around acute IPV events, physically and emotionally and took an active role in protecting their victimized parents, siblings, and themselves. Multiple victimizations occurred for most of them, in and out of the home and included direct violence from the IPV perpetrator and school bullying. Other adverse childhood events (e.g., alcohol abuse, parental mental illness) were frequently reported. Children are not mere witnesses but victims who demonstrate agency in the context of IPV. Their situation is made more complex by other victimizations and adversities. Recommendations are made in terms of detection, screening and intervention.