The Australian Association of Infant Mental Health (AAIMH, an affiliate of WAIMH) have released a new position statement on infants in refuge, which partners the earlier position statement on the needs of infants experiencing family violence. Infants under four make up the highest cohort of children entering crisis accommodation, often with their mothers who are fleeing violence.
AAIMH consulted with Dr Wendy Bunston, PhD who has conducted extensive research on the experience of infants in women’s refuges and calls for services to move beyond crisis interventions for mothers and provide specialised trauma support for infants, too. You can read a summary of Wendy’s doctoral research in an earlier edition of Perspectives.
Dr Nicole Milburn, AAIMH Chairperson, says
“Given Infancy is the most rapid developmental period in life. The position of AAIMH is that infants experiencing family violence do not have the time to wait while their mother’s recover from what is often significant and cumulative abuse. It is essential that the infant’s needs are recognised and responded to in their own right. They are people who deserve the full range of safety and intervention services that older children, adolescents, and adults have.”
You can access the full range of AAIMH Position Statements here.
Authors
Lauren Keegan,
Australia
