A friend of the family has been seeing this man for 6 months and they have recently become engaged. She has two children by a previous partner, one only 2yrs old. We have found out recently that he has been hitting her and she ended up with a black eye and broken finger. I don't see her very often but would be expecting to see her at Christmas as her son and my daughter are the same age and tend to play together. My husband thinks there is not much we can do as she obviously loves this man as she just got engaged. I am really worried about her children as having been a teacher i have seen the effects of domestic violence on kids. I don't understand what she is thinking staying with this idiot as I always thought she was a strong independent women - Does anyone have any idea what I could do to help her or the children. I am not very good at keeping my mouth shut and If I see her at christmas I know I will confront her and ask her what the hell she thinks she is doing to her children. This obviously might not be the best course of action. Can anyone give me and advice on how to handle this situation and help my friend.