Domestic Violence may be kept secret from relatives, friends, law enforcement, clergy and others, but the children of violent homes know what is happening. A home that is characterized by physical, emotional, sexual or property abuse is a frightening, debilitating and unhealthy place. The children in such a home are often unable to be children. They worry about protecting their parents. They do not want to become an additional source of stress or problem and they fear for their own safety and security. They have the burden of carrying around a tremendous family secret. No one benefits from family violence, least of all the children who experience it and who may repeat the cycle of violence in their own lives.