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The Children Who Witness Violence: Hidden Victims of Femicide

When Violence Steals More Than One Life

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As we continue to observe Women’s Abuse Awareness Month and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, I find myself reflecting on a reality that is too often overlooked. When femicide ends a woman’s life, it doesn’t end the violence.


It continues, in the silence, grief, and confusion carried by her children.


These children are the hidden victims of femicide. They inherit the fear, loss, and trauma that violence leaves behind, often without words to describe it. Their sense of home and safety disappears in an instant.

The Stark Reality Behind the Headlines

Femicide is not rare, nor random; it is patterned and preventable.


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Between 2011 and 2021, an average of 102 women and girls were killed each year in Canada because of their gender (Women and Gender Equality Canada, 2024). Most were murdered by a current or former intimate partner or family member, accounting for 93% of all gender-related homicides during that period (Statistics Canada, 2023).


Indigenous women remain disproportionately impacted, facing a homicide rate more than three times higher than the national average for women and girls overall (Statistics Canada, 2023).


Each of these deaths leaves behind loved ones, and far too often, children who have witnessed the violence unfold long before it became fatal.


Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common reasons for child welfare investigations in Canada, and it is now widely recognized as a form of child maltreatment (Canadian Pediatric Society, 2023). For many of these children, the trauma begins with witnessing control, fear, and manipulation, and ends with unthinkable loss.

The Hidden Toll on a Child’s Mind and Heart

In my work with survivors and families, I see how deeply violence imprints itself on children’s emotional and psychological worlds.


Even without physical abuse, witnessing coercion, fear, or harm between caregivers can cause:


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🌿 Persistent anxiety and hypervigilance — the feeling that danger could return at any moment.

🌿 Sleep disturbances, nightmares, and concentration difficulties.

🌿 Depression, guilt, and self-blame — children often wonder, “Could I have stopped it?”

🌿 Attachment & trust issues — when the person who represented safety is suddenly gone.

🌿 Post-traumatic stress symptoms that can last years after the event (Wathen & MacMillan, 2013; University of Manitoba, 2025).


Violence alters how a child understands love, safety, and belonging. Without timely support, that emotional blueprint can shape their relationships and self-worth well into adulthood.

Why This Matters to Me — and My Work


As a therapist and family mediator, I’ve supported children and families living through the aftermath of violence. I’ve seen how grief and trauma manifest differently in every child; some withdraw and become quiet, others express their pain through anger or restlessness.


For me, addressing children’s trauma isn’t optional. It’s essential.


Because healing one generation helps protect the next.



At Nada Johnson Consulting & Counselling Services, I provide trauma-informed, family-centred care that helps children and caregivers rebuild safety, stability, and trust. Through therapy and research, I aim to transform stories of loss into pathways for prevention.

What NJCCS Offers to Families and Partners

💠 Family Counselling and Mediation

I provide a supportive, trauma-informed space for families navigating the aftermath of violence, loss, or conflict. My work focuses on helping women and families restore communication, rebuild trust, and strengthen relationships impacted by trauma.


💠 Sibling & Family Counselling

I specialize in supporting mothers and adult daughters, as well as adult female siblings, to work through long-standing tensions and emotional distance. Through guided conversations, I help families listen, understand, and begin to rebuild healthier, more respectful relationships.


💠 Safety Planning and Support Coordination

Safety is the foundation of healing. I work closely with clients to develop safety plans and connect them with community and professional supports that foster protection, stability, and recovery.


My Research and Consulting Work

Beyond my clinical practice, I also collaborate with government bodies, community organizations, and academic institutions to advance research and strengthen systemic responses to gender-based violence.

This work includes:

  • Literature reviews and evidence-based reports

  • Community needs assessments

  • Survivor-informed interviews and focus groups

  • Data collection and analysis

  • Research-informed program development

  • Policy recommendations and presentations


Every statistic represents a life, and every story represents a chance to do better.

A Message to Survivors and Allies

If you are a mother living in fear, or if your children have seen, heard, or sensed violence at home, please know that it is not your fault. Help is available, and healing is possible.


To community partners, educators, and policy makers: femicide is not a private tragedy between two adults. It is a public health emergency that ripples through generations. Addressing it means investing in both prevention and recovery, through trauma-informed care, research, and education.


If you would like to collaborate or learn more about my work, please reach out. Together, we can protect children, empower survivors, and rebuild what violence tried to destroy.

Moving Forward Together

The children left behind after femicide remind me every day why prevention and healing must go hand in hand. Their stories call us to act, to build systems that listen, protect, and believe them.


We honour every woman lost by ensuring her children are not forgotten.


With warmth,



Nada Johnson, MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist / trained Family Mediator / EMDR Trained Therapist / Certified Racial Trauma Clinician / Mental Health & Sexual Violence Consultant / Professional Speaker


Nada Johnson Consulting & Counselling Services – Online phone and video sessions available

Village Healing Centre: 240 Roncesvalles Avenue




Please share this post to raise awareness that femicide is not an isolated act, it’s a preventable tragedy we must confront together. 💙

References

Canadian Paediatric Society. (2023). Recognizing and responding to children with suspected exposure to intimate partner violence between caregivers. https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/recognizing-and-responding-to-children-with-suspected-exposure-to-intimate-partner-violence-between-caregivers

Government of Canada, Department for Women and Gender Equality. (2024, March 8). Facts and stats – Gender-based violence. https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/gender-based-violence/facts-stats.html

Statistics Canada. (2023, April 5). Gender-related homicide of women and girls in Canada, 2021. Juristat Bulletin—Quick Fact. Catalogue no. 85-002-X. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2023001/article/00003-eng.htm

University of Manitoba, RESOLVE Network. (2025). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: Impact on children and parenting – Literature review. https://umanitoba.ca/sites/resolve/files/2025-05/children-s-exposure-to-intimate-partner-violence-impact-on-children-and-parenting-literature-review.pdf

Wathen, C. N., & MacMillan, H. L. (2013). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence: Impacts and interventions. Current Psychiatry Reports, 15(11), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-013-0423-6

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