Health needs of a hidden group: child residents of domestic abuse refuges

In England and Wales, the rate of domestic abuse of women varies by age, being most common in the 16- to 19-year-old group where 10% of women will experience domestic abuse in a 3-year period. This rate drops to 6% by the time UK women fall in the 55- to 59-year-old group. This abuse includes any controlling, coercive, or threatening behaviour, or violence between family members or intimate partners aged 16 or over.1 As a result of domestic abuse, it is estimated that in 2017 there were 13 414 women supported by refuge services in England. They were accompanied by an estimated 14 353 children.2 The majority of refuge residents have been forced to move from a different local authority area in order to escape the abuse, with 10 161 such journeys across local authority boundaries being made in 2008–2009.3 The health needs of …