Abuse victim: 'Mum tried to take beatings for me but it didn't satisfy brutal father'

YOUNG people whose childhoods were blighted by domestic violence have launched a campaign to help others enduring the same ordeal.

"Voice against violence", a group of eight teenagers and young adults, has been tasked by the Scottish Government to reach out to victims.

Their new campaign will feature adverts placed on Facebook, YouTube and MSN, which compare domestic violence to "living in a war zone", as well as posters sent out to all 376 secondary schools in Scotland.

They will direct people to ChildLine, which as well as taking 6,000 calls a year from troubled youngsters, now offers one-to-one online chat services, which attracts up to 3,000 people annually, and e-mails which are used by 1,000 more.

ChildLine and the Scottish Government are increasingly concerned about the effect domestic violence has on children, both when they are victims, and when they witness it.

Chloe, 22, who is using a false name, is a rare success story. She suffered violence at the hands of her father, but has spent the last nine years campaigning against domestic abuse, and helped launch the new initiative at Dynamic Earth, yesterday.

• Case studies: 'I looked at him. This man was not my dad, he was a monster'

"Mum tried everything in her power to take the beatings for me, and tried to get me out of the way, but sometimes it just wasn't enough, and then I'd also get beaten for nothing," she said. "At the age of two or three I was running around the living room and he pushed open the door with me behind it.

"The door ran over my foot and I was in pain. I was screaming and he picked me up by the hair and threw me off the wall."

She added: "We left him when I was seven. I remember standing on the corner with my mum, brother and sister.

"We went to Women's Aid with just two black bags of belongings, and then spent years going from refuge to refuge all across Scotland. Since I was 13 I have campaigned against domestic violence. I was the first teenager to address the Scottish Parliament, asking for more outreach workers in Scotland."

Strictly Come Dancing judge, Alesha Dixon, whose mother suffered domestic violence, is backing the campaign. "I know what it's like to live in fear and to dread going home, which is why I am supporting this campaign to encourage young people to speak out," she said.

Adam Ingram, minister for children and early years, added: "The focus in the past has been quite rightly on victims - women in most cases - but the impact on children and young people can be very profound indeed and there is a lot to do to ensure they are not damaged."

Elaine Chalmers, head of ChildLine in Scotland, said: "Children and young people living in violent homes often don't speak out about the abuse they have witnessed as they may feel frightened and powerless."We would encourage any young person who is struggling to deal with the impact domestic abuse is having on their lives to either talk to someone they can trust or contact ChildLine."