Image by: MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson
Valencia and her mother, Charlene
For fourteen years, a singular event has shaped Valencia McMurray's life: her mother, Charlene Sanders, was violently attacked by her father when she was 6 years old. More than a quarter of American children experience parents physically fighting each other at some time in their lives. Early researchers into family violence often considered children to be "invisible victims," but that view is changing.
Read the full description.
Valencia's story follows how she, her mother, and her siblings reacted that night and how they've dealt through the years, mostly by trying to forget what happened.Her mom actually says she was surprised nobody asked her how her kids were doing. Now, Valencia reports that new focus on the affects of domestic violence on children have helped her and will help more kids in the future.
We've featured a few other stories from the MPR News Youth Series. Give them a listen and you'll travel to Washington DC to meet the president and to California to visit a Japanese Internment camp.The original feature can be heard here.
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Piece Description
Valencia's story follows how she, her mother, and her siblings reacted that night and how they've dealt through the years, mostly by trying to forget what happened.Her mom actually says she was surprised nobody asked her how her kids were doing. Now, Valencia reports that new focus on the affects of domestic violence on children have helped her and will help more kids in the future.
We've featured a few other stories from the MPR News Youth Series. Give them a listen and you'll travel to Washington DC to meet the president and to California to visit a Japanese Internment camp.The original feature can be heard here.
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