Home > Denominational Ministries > Women Ministries > Departmental Ministries > AVA (Advocacy for Victims of Abuse) > Domestic Violence > Teenagers Exposed to Domestic Violence

Teenagers Exposed to Domestic Violence

The teen living at home with domestic violence is already experiencing mixed messages about love. Most likely they are already being told that the perpetrator loves the victim. In other words the teenager is hearing “you know your dad really does love us, he just looses his temper sometimes”. The teen hearing “I really don’t mean to hurt your mother, I love her.” Combine those home messages with a spiritual message that children should honor their parents and we create a teenager that accepts and associates violence with love and honor with silence. This integration shapes the way in which teens will develop their intimate relationships.

In Thomas Merton’s, No Man is an Island, he wrote, “… What we are is to be sought in the invisible depths of our own being… in our soul.” Merton encourages us in the fact that we are much is more than what we do or say. Our actions are not what we truly are, but merely reflections of our true selves, our souls. However, he adds that what we believe of ourselves and our actions depend greatly on “how the soul sees itself…”

To be or not to be, is one of the major dilemmas for teenagers exposed to domestic violence. Will they discover their true selves, their worth and unique beauty or will they loose themselves in the soul crushing, heart breaking trauma of domestic violence? Will they develop into their own identity and personhood or will they be lost never to discover themselves outside of the chaotic environment and experience of domestic violence?

Will the church and its clergy become the positive promising partners to help teenagers exposed to domestic violence discover what great wealth lies in the “depth of [their] own being?” What does the Christian Tradition have to offer teenagers that witness domestic violence? What resources are offered to help teenagers discover their own self-worth, value and uniqueness in God? How can the Christian tradition shine the light on the souls of these teenagers and reveal to them their true selves? These are the primary practical questions that require theological exploration when considering a church response to teens exposed to domestic violence.

Teenagers Can Protect Themselves from Sexual Assault

No More Drama: Teen girls, don't be fooled by jealousy & possessiveness in a relationship. 

Keeping Yourself Safe in a Violent Home