The social violence It is a set of behaviors on the part of people or society towards one or more individuals that produces psychological or physical damage. In general, these behaviors are evidenced by threats, offenses and even by means of physical force and their purpose is to obtain an action that the victim would not carry out voluntarily.
This type of behavior is not typical of the current era; on the contrary, it has existed for many years, only in different ways and with different magnitudes, and in some cases they have been escalating and have been transformed into a more serious scenario.
Social violence is not always evident in the same way in all countries. The causes that originate it can be very diverse: they can be derived from political, social or cultural reasons. Likewise, the way in which it is externalized can also vary, since it does not always follow the same pattern..
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These types of behaviors that are detrimental to the physical and / or mental health of the people who become victims are usually characterized by the presence of an aggressor, a victim and observers.
The aggressor may correspond to a group of people who carry out violent acts against one or more individuals in order to subdue and control them to obtain from them something that they would not do on their own and voluntarily..
The victim is the person who receives the assault and can be both an adult and a minor. In the case of minors, the laws are more rigorous to punish the aggressor.
Victims of assaults are diminished in their physical or psychological faculties due to the pressure that the aggressor places on them.
The observers are part of the environment where the victim or the aggressor operates and they are not directly participants because they are not the ones who promote the aggressor behavior, but are aware of the situation but do nothing to stop it. They stay out of the matter.
One of the main characteristics of violence is the abuse of power. The aggressor imposes himself by virtue of his position of dominance over the victim.
Historically, abuse is committed on people who have less power. Examples of this may be the power of a parent over their child or that of a teacher over a student..
Another characteristic is that social violence is intentional. The aggressor carries out the aggression for a specific purpose, consciously and maliciously, using different means such as abuse, manipulation, submission, psychological pressure and physical or verbal abuse..
The aggressor consciously chooses his victim. It does not do it indiscriminately and seeks to obtain something from that person or group of people.
The characteristics of each type of social violence can vary. For example, gender violence is different from economic violence: while in the former the purpose is the subjugation of a person in order to achieve recognition and respect, in the economic the objective is the damage to the victim's assets.
The causes of social violence are often very varied. They can be linked to upbringing, repetition of patterns, injustice, economic factors, ideological, social, political or religious beliefs, and even psychological illnesses..
They can also be related to social exclusion, inequality and drugs, alcohol or any type of addiction. In this sense, the causes of social violence can be divided into subjective and objective.
These causes are related to the rationality of being and to instincts, impulses, feelings and emotions. Some psychologists argue that these types of causes are not by themselves the triggers of violence, but rather are those that accompany the objective causes.
The objective causes are those that are related to social, political and cultural aspects. This is indicative that aggressive and violent behavior is learned, acquired and developed throughout the development of the human being..
Due to the values instilled and perhaps because of having had a role model with this type of behavior, a person can be aggressive or perpetrate acts that are detrimental to the physical or psychological health of the victim, all in order to subdue her.
In this sense, the causes may vary according to the type of violence, since what leads the aggressor to generate social violence is not always the same.
It is aimed at attacking the victim's self-esteem and emotions. There is no physical contact, but the aggressor seeks to generate a state of vulnerability on the person who receives it in order to control it.
Psychological violence is a continuous act that involves insults, threats, blackmail, contempt and rejection by the aggressor towards the victim.
Within this type of violence there is the so-called verbal violence, which is what is expressed through words or in writing. It also highlights emotional violence, whose objective is to make the person feel inferior.
Corresponds to the action of inflicting physical and noticeable damage to one or more people, through blows that can cause injuries, bruises or fractures.
Sometimes the aggressor can use some type of object to hit. This type of violence is visible because the results are evident in the body of the person who receives it..
Usually, with this type of violence, the aggressor seeks to obtain an action from the victim that he would not carry out voluntarily..
Sexual violence is considered to be those acts of an intimate nature that one person or several commits to another without their consent. These acts can be advances, touching, or harassment..
When this type of aggression is directed at minors, they are more serious and can have serious psychological implications. These attacks include child pornography and prostitution.
Cultural violence has to do with the practices of particular characteristics carried out by a person or a group of people belonging to a certain culture.
Such practices may be considered violent by people outside the culture in question, but those who perform them perceive them as a normal act because they are part of their beliefs and those of the social circle to which they belong..
This type of social violence arises from the lack of attention on the part of people who have been entrusted with the care of another individual who cannot take care of himself, either because of their advanced age (elderly), because they are children or because they are sick.
It occurs when the physical, safety, hygiene, hygiene or food needs of those under the care of another person are not met, which negatively affects the health of the person under care..
Religious social violence is evidenced when people of a certain religion are forced to perform acts that they would not voluntarily do. In this scenario, religion is used to manipulate and control people.
This type of violence mostly affects minors. An example of this context is when the exploiter-aggressor makes a child beg for money from strangers under the pretext of needing it to buy food, medicine or any other excuse.
This type of violence includes those derived from sexual exploitation, drug trafficking, robberies and any other type in which a person is used to obtain some economic benefit or advantage..
Economic violence arises when the assets or money of a specific person is used without their consent, always to the detriment of the victim or owner of the money.
It refers to when violence is exerted by one sex on another, in search of recognition and respect. This type of violence is marked by an ideology since it comes from the conception of the favored patriarchal figure and from the traditional idea that supports the fact that there is inequality between the sexes.
A characteristic of this type of violence is discrimination based on sex, according to which some individuals are given preference over others based on their gender..
The consequences of social violence will largely depend on the type of violence and its characteristics. For example, the consequences of gender-based violence are usually not the same as those of religious violence; each type has its own characteristics and consequences.
However, the most notable consequences of violence in general have to do with the degree of direct impact or damage that it generates on the victims. These damages can be to their physical integrity (which are often notorious) or to their emotional and psychological integrity.
Likewise, third parties who have been observers may also be indirectly affected. For example, let's imagine a situation of domestic violence in which one of the children witnesses episodes of this type; in this case, the child will undoubtedly be affected by the scenario.
Regarding the social impact, the consequences can lead to the dismantling of social ties, the creation of social distrust, disorganization and social isolation, and sometimes the appearance of a spiral of violence, as a result of which social development may be compromised. and economic of the population.
- Among the most drastic examples of social violence that involve a group of people, the cases of civil wars due to political or ideological reasons stand out..
- Wars against organized crime are very violent social scenarios. For example, this type of violence has occurred in Mexico for many years, and has derived from fights between drug cartels that have claimed many human lives. In addition, they affect the economy and the quality of life of the population.
- An example of cultural violence is the traditional practice of cutting or mutilation of the genital organs of girls in more than 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This practice is considered a violation of the human rights of women and girls by the World Health Organization.
- In the case of psychological violence, an example could be the disproportionate pressure exerted by a parent on their child to play a certain sport against the child's will. It often happens that he agrees to do so because of the fear and threats that his father makes.
- Regarding the type of social violence due to neglect, it can occur in the case of elderly whose care has been entrusted to family members or even specialized institutions (nursing homes), without these actually assisting the elderly who cannot fend for themselves, depriving them of food, hygiene and supply to supply you with your medications.
The prevention of social violence has its fundamental basis in reinforcing moral and social values from the child's primary stage of growth.
This work falls primarily on the family, which is the primary and fundamental cell of society; thanks to the participation of the family in the construction of positive values, psychologically healthy individuals can develop.
However, this work should be reinforced in schools with activities that help to create in children the ability to discern between normal behaviors and situations of violence so that they know how to identify and reject them.
In addition to the above, UNICEF recommends supporting parents in raising their children, fostering family dialogue and setting limits and norms for children that are consistent with their psychological and physical development..
On the other hand, the World Health Organization has stated that another form of prevention is the reduction of alcohol consumption and the implementation of regulations that restrict access to firearms, pesticides and knives..
Likewise, it expresses that it is essential to create norms that promote gender equality and non-discrimination for economic, race or sex reasons, as well as make changes in cultural and social norms that encourage violence..
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