THOUSANDS of children are living in fear in violent homes, with many witnessing their mothers stabbed, strangled and sexually abused.
New figures show more than 4,000 youngsters in the Greater Glasgow area have witnessed domestic abuse since April this year. Some children are used as a manipulative tool by attackers, or forced to hear one parent insulted constantly.
Glasgow Women's Aid say the numbers, collated by advocacy support group Assist, reveal the scale of the problem. The group says outreach service is "desperately understaffed" and young people are waiting up to two months for support.
The service helps youngsters aged five to 18, living with domestic abuse and violence.
Worker Elizabeth Wilson said some children have witnessed shocking sights and are living in fear.
She said: "That fear can manifest itself in anxiety, poor school work, poor focus. Friendships are difficult, they have low self-esteem, poor confidence.
"Sometimes it goes the other way, where they are angry or aggressive."
Team leader Marie Farry added: "Some children will not attend school because they want to protect mum and other people will be really high achievers because school is their safe place. What we do recognise is that with the support they can go on to healthier lives."
Last year the service supported 60 children. This year they have already worked with 74 youngsters.
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