Webinar Video Clip: More Than Words – The Emotional Maltreatment of Children

There are different types of abuse, but regardless of the type of abuse a victim experiences, the emotional aspect of the incident affects the individual. Fear, anxiety, and depression, among others can stem from physical, sexual, and verbal abuse and it can have life-long impacts.

Back on Justice Clearinghouse is one of our sought-after speakers, Andrew Campbell. Andrew is an expert on domestic violence and the associated risks of harm for its victims. Using cutting edge data analysis coupled with his first-hand experience on family violence, he provides education for agencies and communities on this topic. He’s published numerous studies on this area and is the CEO/Founder of Campbell Research & Consulting.

Topics discussed in this session are:

• What emotional maltreatment is, its prevalence, and the most common misconceptions on emotional maltreatment of children.
• The components that create the opportunity for abuse to occur.
• The various ways that emotional maltreatment may transpire, why it is commonly missed, and the forms in which it occurs.
• Children as collateral damage in intimate partner violence.
• How exposure to abuse can impact children’s development when they ‘cannot understand or remember things yet’, and even before birth.
• Toxic stress in children – the neuroscience behind it, and how prolonged exposure can impact children’s development and have lasting effects.
• How the COVID-19 pandemic is posing greater risks for violence at home due to financial, spatial, and work-related stressors.
• Neglect as a form of maltreatment when the well-intended caregiver is no longer able to provide attention to the children because of his/her own trauma.
• Zeroing in on the long-lasting, life-altering effects of violence at home by examining poly-victimization and adverse childhood experiences.
• The importance of awareness within the responding agencies on the interrelation of different types of abuse and victimization in order to address the issue on a holistic level.
• Encouraging people to report abuse by educating them on concerning caregiver behaviors, symptoms of emotional abuse, and engaging the community to prevent and mitigate harm.

Audience questions were on:

• The similarity of disaster situations and the current conditions with COVID-19, and how it impacts domestic violence.
• Witnessing nimal abuse as a potential adverse childhood experience.
• How abuse and victimization can become part of our genetic make-up.
• Tips on getting various agencies and community stakeholders to collaborate and work towards mitigating child abuse.

Resources and Handouts

• The Emotional Maltreat of Children in Domestically Violent Homes
• More than Words: The Emotional Maltreatment of Children
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk MD

Audience Comments

• “How Emotional Abuse is not as highlighted as it should be! Lot’s of informative and helpful information provided in this webinar, thank you!” — Alicia
• “Absolutely love listening in on Andrew’s webinars. He’s an amazing speaker.” — Amanda
• “I often find the stats in these trainings are old, so I appreciate the presenter using up to date information.” — Arrow
• “This was very informative. Andrew did an excellent job presenting the material. He injected his personal experiences into the presentation and this made it more real. I look forward to more webinars and will be encouraging more of my associates to participate in them as well.” — Ron
• “Mr. Campbell had a lot of good information to share with the participants. I like all the data and research that he sited. His approach is very academic and I like his style.” — Bridgette
• “I’ve had a lot of DV training, but this information was just a really good reminder of how important it is to pay attention to the abuse that might be happening that doesn’t leave physical evidence.” — Katy
• “Andrew was an excellent speaker! He pointed out the damaging effect of hearing/seeing abuse to very small children. I think this is something that a lot of people still don’t realize, even I didn’t fully realize the impact. Fantastic speaker.” — Kari
• “Andrew Campbell is a wonderful presenter…his information is so relevant and beneficial for social services providers that may encounter children and adults who may have been exposed to DV and/or prolonged toxic stress. I really appreciated his willingness to share about some of his own personal experiences. THANK YOU MR. CAMPBELL!!” — Rachel