PART 1Definition of “domestic abuse”

3Children as victims of domestic abuse

(1)

This section applies where behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is domestic abuse.

(2)

Any reference in this Act to a victim of domestic abuse includes a reference to a child who—

(a)

sees or hears, or experiences the effects of, the abuse, and

(b)

is related to A or B.

(3)

A child is related to a person for the purposes of subsection (2) if—

(a)

the person is a parent of, or has parental responsibility for, the child, or

(b)

the child and the person are relatives.

(4)

In this section—

“child” means a person under the age of 18 years;

“parental responsibility” has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989 (see section 3 of that Act);

“relative” has the meaning given by section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996.