Children witnessing home violence

The charity want to highlight the impact of domestic violence on children

About 330 children had to be referred to Social Services in Londonderry over a 12 month period because of domestic violence, according to the NSPCC.

The charity obtained the figures from the police ahead of a campaign in Londonderry to raise awareness of how domestic violence affects children.

Sharon Breslin, of the NSPCC's domestic violence support team, said the figures were the tip of the iceberg.

"These are only the children brought to the attention of police," she said.

"There are children who are suffering as a result of exposure to domestic abuse and are not being brought to the attention of local authorities.

"We want to highlight the prevalence of domestic violence in the area and its impact on families and children. "

Last year 1,842 incidents of domestic violence and 689 offences were recorded by the PSNI in Foyle.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust and the Department of Health and Social Services currently help fund support services such as Foyle Women's Aid, the PSNI Domestic Violence Unit, and the NSPCC domestic abuse recovery.