Notes on Violence in Society

• Protecting children

• DSWD
• Anti - VAWC

• Women as victims of violence

• Physical punishment was often used to keep women under control.
• Rape within marriage

• Women around the world

• Violence by male partners is the single largest cause of injury to women worldwide – more than muggings and car accidents combined.
• India has a particular problem with dowry-related violence.
• About 1/3 of women murdered in the U.S. and Japan each year are killed by their husbands.
• Brazilians believe that a husband is completely within his rights to execute an unfaithful wife.

• Women and family violence

• Men who abuse come from all walks of life, all classes, all races and all ages.
• A wife batterer has learned that striking out against another relieves stress, helps him to feel powerful, masculine and in control.

• Parent abuse

• Parents have a position of power and authority in a family and, within certain limits, it is assumed that they will decide how that power is used.
• Adolescents were reported to have kicked, punched, beaten up, or used a gun or knife against a parent.

• Elder abuse

• Abusive treatment toward the elderly can take many forms.

• Violence in gay and lesbian relationships

• One of the most overlooked forms of family violence is that in gay and lesbian relationships.

• Counting the cost

• Children who are abused live in constant fear, feeling powerless to take any action to stop the violence and abuse.
• Result of abuse: depression, anxiety, eating problems and post-traumatic stress disorder

• The cost to society

• It is very difficult to calculate the financial costs of family violence.

• Medical and therapy bills for physical and emotional damage
• Prison costs for those convicted
• Costs of running safe refugees for battered women
• Housing costs after separation and divorce
• Social services
• Police and court costs

• Breaking the cycle

• It is now widely recognized that violence and abuse are often part of a cycle of learned behavior.

VIOLENCE IN YOUNG PEOPLE’S LIVES

• The rights of children

• Children must be safeguarded against all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

• Homelessness

• Homeless people are nearly four times as likely to be murdered as the general population. The average expectancy of a homeless  person is 47 years.

• Bullying

• Being called names, being teased, being pushed or pulled around, being hit or attacked, having your bag or other possessions taken and thrown around, having rumors spread about you, being ignored and left out, being forced to hand over money or possessions, being attacked because of religion, race or color.

• Violent children

• Children who had grown up in abusive households where they experienced neglect, bullying and physical violence.

• Pedophiles and the Internet

• With the increased use of internet, some pedophiles have succeeded in getting to know their victims through chat rooms, perhaps by posing as children or teenagers.

• Children and war

• In some countries such as Colombia and Yemen, it is cheaper to buy a gun than a book.
• More children are able to become soldiers now because of new lightweight weapons, which are easy for children to handle.

• Children and poverty

• Some children are abandoned by families who are too poor or demoralized to look after them.
• Some are forced into prostitution, and others work as couriers for drug dealers.

• Child labor

• Benefits:
• 1.Employers exploit child workers and use their ready availability to force down adult wages.
• 2. Governments benefit from increased exports and economic growth.
• 3. Consumers at home and abroad enjoy lower prices of products.

VIOLENT CRIME

Murder is regarded as the most serious of crimes. It is also the easiest violent crime on which to get reliable statistics.

• Perpetrators of violent crime

• The majority of violent criminals are young men who are likely to come from a background of poverty and live in inner cities.
• Women are also involved in crimes like shoplifting, public drunkenness, drugs and prostitution.

• Victims of violent crime

• The young, low-income, inner city men are also the most common victims of theft, assault and other forms of violence.

• Turning to crime

• Reasons:
• 1. An early age boy may join gangs in which crime is a way of life.
•  2. the rapidly changing position of men in society.

• Violence and drugs

• Illegal drugs are blamed for much of the increase in violent crime throughout the world.

• Guns and gun control

• In the U.S. more family members are killed by one of their own family’s guns – by accident, suicide or an impulsive family fight – than are killed or even threatened by a criminal’s gun.

• Organized crime

• Is a group enterprise that resembles a normal business but engages in illegal activities. It includes prostitution smuggling (drugs, people, goods), illegal gambling, large-scale theft, blackmail and intimidation.
• Japanese yakuza, Chinese triads, Sicilian mafia, Russian mafia

• Corporate crime

• Offenses committed by large companies and corporations.
• May seem less obviously violent than crimes committed by individuals (like assault or murder), but they are often further-reaching in their  consequences.

• Fears of violent crime

• Whatever the facts, most people now believe that crime is more common and more serious.

• Crime and punishment

• When people break the law, they are arrested and charged by the police, the judged and punished by the courts.

RACISM AND VIOLENCE

• What is racism?

• Treating people in a hostile or oppressive way because they belong to a different ethnic group.

• Theories of race

• Colonial rule
• Count Joseph de Gobineau sometimes called “The Father of Modern Racism”, proposed that white people possessed superior intelligence, morality, and willpower.

• The rise of fascist political groups

• People from ethnic minorities are much more likely than white people to be the targets of the attack.

• Institutional racism

• Racism is present throughout society’s structures and institutions including schools, police and health care services.

• Ethnic conflict

• When there is a competition for resources, employment and housing, differences in language, religion and culture may become exaggerated.

• Genocide

• In 1994, Hutu launched a genocidal campaign against the Tutsi minority (Rwanda)

• Seeking asylum

• In 2000 about 150million immigrants were living outside their countries of birth.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE

• Demonstrations and riots

• No army in the world can stop an idea once its time has come.

• Revolutions and invasions

• Entire groups of people become so disillusioned by their country’s political system that they deliberately use violence to overthrow an existing government.

• Violence by the state

• Authoritarian regimes may use violence against their own populations to keep power and wealth in the hands of a very small group.
• Terrorism
• Usually refers to deliberate killing of civilians in order to affect policies and laws. Terrorist acts include bombings, hijackings, hostage-taking, assassinations and threat against civilians.

• The rise of religious fundamentalism

• Fundamentalism can be viewed as a desire to return to traditional social values and religious beliefs.

VIOLENCE AS ENTERTAINMENT

• The appeal of violence

• Many individuals enjoy watching violent entertainment as long as they, the spectators, are not at risk.
• Effects of viewing violence:
• 1. People could develop favorable attitudes toward violence
• 2. It could make viewers less sensitive to violence and the effects on its victims
• 3. May encourage the belief that the world is nasty and dangerous in real life

• Reporting the news

• This may involve showing violence but its effects on the viewer are very different from the effects of watching a violent film or drama.

• Censorship

• Many countries use rating systems with age restrictions or recommendations for admission to films that may contain violence.

• Violence in sports

• Tension runs high, and tempers get frayed when there is a bad play or good results fail to materialize.
• Violence among fans.

• Killing for sport

Animal hunting, Dog fighting, Cock fighting, Poaching, Bull fighting

PREVENTING VIOLENCE

• Keeping the peace

• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

• Starting from the beginning

• People can learn to be violent if they experience violence at a young age.

• What can you do?

• How you and your friends live your lives can make a difference.
• Schools should encourage nonviolent attitudes.

Glossary

• Annex – to take control of another country or state
• Apartheid – meaning “apartness”, a system of government introduced in South Africa in 1948 to keep black, white, mixed-race and Asian people separate and unequal.
• Assault – to attack violently, a violent attack
• Asylum seeker – someone who suffers because of his or her skin color, culture, religion, or political beliefs, and flees to another country to seek asylum (a safe haven). Asylum also means the right to live in another country if you have been attacked for one of these reasons.
• Authoritarian – government that emphasizes harsh enforcement of rules and laws.
• Capital punishment – lawful punishment by death; otherwise known as execution or the death penalty.
• Censor – to examine and remove anything considered to be offensive in films, books, etc.
• Civil War – a war between citizens of the same country
• Colonial Rule – control over people or areas, historically used by European countries such as Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, to dominate countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
• Corporal punishment – physical punishment, such as hitting or spanking
• Courier (in the drugs trade) – someone who carries illegal drugs from one country to another.
• Criminologist – someone who studies criminal behavior.
• Delinquency – behavior, especially by young people, that goes against accepted social standards or breaks the law.
• Democracy – a political system in which citizens elect their own rulers and take part in decision-making.
• Developed countries – the wealthier countries of the world, including those of Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand .
• Developing countries – the poorer countries of the world including much of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
• Domestic violence – term used to describe violence within a family setting, usually between adults.
• Dowry – money or goods traditionally given by a bride’s family to the bridegroom at marriage.
• Ethnic cleansing – the policy of forcing the people of a particular ethnic group or religion to leave an area or country.
• Ethnic group – a group of people who share a common culture, tradition and sometimes language.
• Fascist – someone who obeys one powerful leader, opposes democracy, and believes that his or her country or ethnic group is better than all others.
• Fundamentalism – the practice of following the traditional rules of a religion
• Genocide – the deliberate killing of an entire ethnic group or nation
• Globalization – growing social and economic interdependence between different people and countries in the world.
• Heterosexual – someone who is sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex.
• Homosexual – someone who is sexually attracted to people of the same sex.
• Hooliganism – noisy, rough, aggressive behavior
• Hutterite -  member of the Anabaptist sect who came from Eastern Europe during the 1800s to escape religious persecution
• International Labor Organization (ILO) – a UN organization that investigates working conditions around the world and proposes legislation to protect workers from abuse and hazards in the workplace.
• Pedophile – adult who is sexually attracted to children
• Perpetrator – someone who does something wrong or criminal
• Post – traumatic stress disorder – condition of mental stress, anxiety and sometimes physical illness which may follow injury or psychological shock
• Refugee – someone who has been forced to leave his or her country for political reasons or escape war.
• Therapy – treatment of physical or mental disorders without using drugs or surgery.
• Zero – tolerance policy – approach to crime prevention that emphasizes maintaining order by targeting small-scale crime and minor disturbances in order to prevent more major crime problems