Police in Northern Ireland made almost 56,000 referrals to schools to alert staff that a child had been affected by a domestic abuse incident at home, according to new data.

The figures, which cover the full Operation Encompass reporting period, were released alongside a total of 146,082 domestic abuse incidents recorded by the PSNI, including violent and sexual offences.

Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley MLA Robbie Butler said the true scale is likely higher because not every incident is reported. He described the referral numbers as evidence of the hidden harm domestic abuse inflicts on children.

Operation Encompass is a partnership that ensures schools receive early notification when police attend a domestic incident where a child is present. It allows teachers to understand why a pupil may arrive tired, distressed or unable to concentrate and to offer immediate support.

Butler said every referral represents a child whose sense of safety at home has been broken. He argued that no child should have to witness violence in their own home, yet for too many it remains a reality.

He noted that public discussion often concentrates on the influence of social media and online content, but decades of research consistently identify the home environment and adult role models as the most powerful factors shaping how children learn to behave and handle conflict.

For many children, he said, violence is not something seen on a screen. They witness it directly, hear it and fear it, and if it is repeated without meaningful consequences for the person responsible, they may come to see it as normal.

The impact extends well beyond the immediate incident, Butler added. Children who are exposed to domestic abuse can carry the trauma for years, with effects on their mental health, education, relationships and future wellbeing. Breaking that cycle, he said, requires supporting victims, holding perpetrators to account and ensuring children are surrounded by positive examples of respect, kindness and self-control.

Domestic abuse does not discriminate by social class, profession, age group or community, the MLA said. Protecting children today, he argued, is one of the most effective ways of preventing violence tomorrow.