The Educational and School Context

Detection in the Classroom: Performance as a Traffic Light

The school is often the only safe and structured refuge for children living in the chaos of domestic violence, making teachers the first line of detection.

Indicators in the classroom go beyond visible bruises.

Attention should be paid to drastic changes in academic performance: a sudden drop in grades in a good student may indicate that his or her mental energy is consumed by fear at home.

Conversely, "anxious perfectionism" (children panicking over a minor error or a bad grade) may indicate a home environment where error is punished with disproportionate violence.

Behaviorally, two extremes are observed: externalization (aggressiveness with peers, replicating the aggressor's power model) or internalization (extreme withdrawal, social isolation, invisibility).

Frequent truancy or lack of hygiene and materials are also indicators of parental neglect associated with the breakdown of family dynamics.

Action Protocols and the Triangulation Trap

A critical challenge for the educational professional is not to fall into the manipulation of the aggressor.

Frequently, abusers present themselves to the school as charming and concerned parents ("door-to-door parents"), while attempting to discredit the mother, labeling her as "crazy," "unbalanced," or negligent to teachers. The teacher should not participate in this triangulation.

Detection requires active, non-judgmental listening: if a student verbalizes phrases such as "daddy broke the phone" or "mommy cries a lot," the teacher should record it verbatim.

The action protocol should be strategic so as not to increase the risk: never confront the alleged aggressor or call home to "verify" the suspicion, as this could trigger a beating of the child or the mother for "talking too much".

Notification should be made directly to the competent child protection services or social services, prioritizing the physical safety of the child over institutional loyalty to the family.

Summary

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