On May 21, 2016, the Sun Newspapers published a report on domestic violence and its effect where they narrated the story of Roselyn who separated from her husband after suffering from domestic violence for eight years. In the report, it was stated that their son was a constant witness to this incidence which was left unchecked until she finally took the bull by the horn and left the marriage. The son who was 16 at the time of the report is just one out of thousands of children in Nigeria that are experiencing partial domestic violence due to what happens in their family.

However, all awareness towards domestic violence and its effect have always been directed towards the two parties but no one takes into cognizance that the children themselves, irrespective of their ages are being moulded into the next generation of wife beaters and husband killers. Research has shown that children learn easily through practice as they get easily connected to what they see. Despite knowing this, we’ve done absolutely nothing as a society to address this but that’s about to change through the #BreakTheCycle campaign embarked upon by Project Alert a Non-Governmental Organisation which seeks to promote the rights of women and young girls in the country.

According to its Executive Director Effah Chukwuma, “Domestic violence has a huge impact on children who live in such toxic environments. The environment is tense, unpredictable and often dominated by the fear of what would happen to themselves, their mother and siblings. Children who live in such homes suffer physical, psychological and emotional trauma”.

Available data by UN women through its Global Database on Violence Against Women show an all-time high 11% rate in Nigeria. This infers that children are being affected at almost the same rate.

Project Alert through its #BreakTheCycle campaigns will go a long way in redefining the narrative as it relates to domestic violence and its effect on children. This new campaign has been designed to shape the children themselves into better future parents as the instructional videos aptly capture what these children go through in the hands of their parents engaging in domestic violence. This latest campaign by Project Alert couldn’t have come at a better time than now when domestic violence is on the rise.

Watch instructional videos below:

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