Domestic violence includes intentional intimidation, assault, battery, sexual assault, or other abusive behavior committed by one intimate partner against another. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime (2011), domestic violence perpetrators persistently denigrate, degrade, or humiliate their partners. Unfortunately, victims of domestic violence are known to routinely blame their own actions, rather than the abusive behavior of the abuser. In contrast, the violence perpetrated by abusers is repeatedly self-driven and depends little on the behavior of the victims. The use of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse combined with episodes of “truce, love, and happiness are premeditated coercive tools used to generate submission” (The National Center for Victims of Crime, 2011, para. 6). This confusing behavior creates a disconcerting situation for victims. Domestic violence doesn't just affect abused people. Unfortunately, children are also victims of domestic violence. The difficult battle between intimate partners is continually a hot research topic related to the negative effects violence has on children. Therefore, it is believed that the impact of witnessing domestic violence would have the capacity to cause serious consequences on children. Innocent Victims of Domestic Violence Every year, a huge number of innocent children are exposed to domestic violence. Children witnessing domestic violence in America represent a significant dilemma that continues to be of great concern. An estimated 15.5 million children in the United States have witnessed domestic violence, while seven million have witnessed incidents of brutal violence (Fortin, Doucet, & Damant, 2011). This f... middle of the paper... f children witnessing domestic violence. Social work for children and families, 14(4), 491-501. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2009.00633.xStiles, M. (2002). Witnessing domestic violence: the effects on children. 1;66(11):2052-2067. American family doctor. Retrieved from http://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/1201/p2052.htmlStover, C. (2005). Domestic violence research: What have we learned and where do we go from here? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, (20)4, 287-315. doi:10.1177/0886260504267755National Center for Victims of Crime. (2011). Domestic violence. Retrieved from http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32347#3Vickerman, K., & Margolin, G. (2007). Posttraumatic stress in children and adolescents exposed to family violence: II. Treatment. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(6), 620-628. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.38.6.620