Family violence is one of the major challenges that South African social welfare is faced with, regardless of the programmes and other initiatives to curb and eradicate it. This violence does not only affect the victim but all members of the family system and the community at large. This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of social work interventions in mitigating the effects of family violence on children in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in Eastern Cape. To answer the research questions of this study, the research used a qualitative method. This study used three groups of participants, children, social workers and parents/guardians. A sample of 30 participants that comprised of 10 children who experienced family violence, 10 parents/guardians and 10 social workers from the child protection unit was purposely selected. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect data from children and social workers, and used a focus group discussion to gather information from the parents. Data was analysed thematically. Findings revealed that family violence was too high in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and is caused by a number of factors. The study further established that effects of family violence on children are severe and long-lasting and they affect the entire well-being of the child. The study also showed that in helping children who experienced family violence, social workers provide numerous services and programmes, which include counselling, alternative care, among other services. Social workers ensure that their services are available and accessible to the communities by conducting community outreach programmes, as well as having offices that are closer to vulnerable communities. Furthermore, findings also revealed that social work interventions are effective as many participants reported positive changes in their lives, such as improved academic performance, positive behaviour and re-building of self-confidence. Furthermore, a number of challenges were reported, which include lack of resources, high case load and cultural issues which social workers believe affect the effectiveness of their services. Key issues emerging from the findings led to the conclusion that social workers were doing their best to help vulnerable families and communities to improve their well-being irrespective of challenges they encountered. Therefore, the study recommends that government should establish and implement measures that demonstrate that government values the well-being of service providers because their challenges affect their productivity in social work service delivery.

Key words: mitigating, effects, family violence, children, effectiveness, social work interventions