Alex's Answer

Hi there, 

Thank you for reaching out to us with your question. 

It sounds like things are very difficult for you with your father right now, and you are wondering if you will get taken away if you fight with him when he is drunk and gets violent. 

We are sorry to hear that this is happening to you, and it must be a frightening time for you when this happens. We would be really worried to hear that your father gets violent, and that it can lead to fighting between you both. It’s really important that you know that you have the right to get help and support with this, and that you deserve to feel safe and comfortable at home, and to feel protected and looked after. Your father has no right to be violent towards you, nobody does. It sounds like you are thinking about fighting/or have fought with him before when he was drunk, would that be right? It is understandable you would want to stand up for yourself and defend yourself, but we would be really concerned about your safety in this situation. 

From what you have said, we are presuming you and your father live together, does anyone else live at home with you? Would there be any trusted person in your family that you could talk to about what is happening? It would be vital for you to be supported with what you are going through. Perhaps there might be someone outside of your family that you feel comfortable talking to, someone at school, a teacher or counsellor. Difficult situations can get better when we share the situation with somebody else, instead of bottling it up inside.

You are wondering if you will get taken away. You may have heard of Túsla, the Child and Family agency in Ireland. It is their job to keep children and young people safe. Changing futures www.changingfutures.ie is a website that is made by young people who have experience of Túsla services, and contains information about these services from a young person’s perspective, along with a space to send a message if help is needed. Perhaps you could take a look at the website, and it may help in giving you some more information. If you are ever feeling frightened at home, you can phone the Gardaí at 999 or 112.

You can also always talk with us here at Childline. We can listen to you, and explore what options you think would be best for your situation. You can contact us through webchat, (click on the orange Live Chat  button on the right-hand side of the screen) on this website, or by phone at  1800 66 66 66, every day of the year, 24 hours a day. The Childline services are free and confidential. Unless you give us identifying information about yourself, we do not know who you are or where you are contacting us from. We would love to hear from you.

Take care, 

Alex