This paper focuses on children and young people who are often the hidden voices of the social crisis of coercive control and domestic abuse in our community. The paper draws from a recent research project, Hidden Voices, which is the first focused study on children and young people’s experiences of coercive control and domestic abuse in Western Australia. The research study maps the nature and prevalence of children and young people’s experiences of and exposure to coercive control and domestic abuse, and the trauma they experience as a result. 

The paper brings into focus the voices of children and young people and what they have to say, their experiences in the family and in their communities, their interactions with the education, health, and justice systems. Our research findings provide important and nuanced insights into how children and young people from Culturally, Ethnically, and Linguistically Diverse (CELD) backgrounds experience and witness coercive control and the different types of abuse within the family contexts. 

Our research also provides important data on the trauma and mental health impacts of coercive control on children and young people, with those who witnessed coercive controlling behaviours having higher anxiety and depression symptom scores. Importantly, this study highlights children and young people’s stories of resistance, resourcefulness and resilience, and the myriads of ways they keep themselves and their families safe in the face of coercive control and abuse. Children and young people are not passive victims; they are often active agents in responding and managing their own safety and wellbeing. Children and young people have clearly spoken in our research about what is important to them, and what is needed to protect and support them to stay safe and heal from the trauma they experience.