One out of five children subjected to violence by their parents

violence child abuse stepdaughtersChild abuse. Photo: pixabay.com

One out of five Norwegian adolescents say they have been subjected to physical violence from at least one of their parents in childhood, according to a new report from NOVA.

While 21 percent said they had been subjected to violence, the proportion who say they have been subjected to aggravated asault,  such as blows with the fist, is at 6 percent,  Aftenposten writes.
In a similar study from 2007, 25 percent said they had been subjected to violence, while the percentage was the same as today for aggravated assault.
– It is very gratifying that the milder forms of violence have decreased. I think the reason for that is increased knowledge, awareness campaigns and the parents themselves ,  Professor Svein Inge Moss at the University of Oslo says.
The decrease is primarily in mild violence from mothers, according to the report. Nevertheless, more of the respondents report having been subjected to violence by their mothers (20 percent) than by their fathers (14 percent). According to Moss Inge may be because mothers often are responsible for the daily care of the children.
There have been few changes in the percentage of adolescents who have experienced being a witness to violence between their parents, and who have been subjected to sexual violence outside of the family.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today