VIOLENCE

Violence has probably always been part of the human experience. Its impact can be seen, in various forms, in all parts of the world. Each year, more than a million people lose their lives, and many more suffer non-fatal injuries, as a result of self-inflicted, interpersonal or collective violence. Overall, violence is among the leading causes of death worldwide for people aged 15–44 years. Although precise estimates are difficult to obtain, the cost of violence translates into billions of US dollars in annual health care expenditures worldwide, and billions more for national economies in terms of days lost from work,law enforcement and lost investment.

Defining violence

Any comprehensive analysis of violence should begin by defining the various forms of violence in such a way as to facilitate their scientific measurement. There are many possible ways to define violence. 

The World Health Organization defines violence as:

"The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation."

So 'Violence is an extreme form of aggression, such as assault or rape or murder'. 

Types of violence

We can divide violence into three broad categories according to characteristics of those committing the violent act:

• —self-directed violence;
• —interpersonal violence;
• —collective violence.

This initial categorization differentiates between violence a person inflicts upon himself or herself, violence inflicted by another individual or by a small group of individuals, and violence inflicted by larger groups such as states, organized political groups, militia groups and terrorist organizations.

These three broad categories are each divided further to reflect more specific types of violence.

Self-directed violence

Self-directed violence is subdivided into suicidal behaviour and self-abuse. The former includes suicidal thoughts, attempted suicides – also called ‘‘parasuicide’’ or ‘‘deliberate self-injury’’ in some countries – and completed suicides. Self-abuse, in contrast, includes acts such as self-mutilation.

Interpersonal violence

Interpersonal violence is divided into two sub-categories:

. Family and intimate partner violence – that is, violence largely between family members and intimate partners, usually, though not exclu-sively, taking place in the home.

. Community violence – violence between individuals who are unrelated, and who may or may not know each other, generally taking place outside the home.

The former group includes forms of violence such as child abuse, intimate partner violence and abuse of the elderly. The latter includes youth violence, random acts of violence, rape or sexual assault by strangers, and violence in institutional settings such as schools, workplaces, prisons and nursing homes.

Collective violence

Collective violence is subdivided into social, political and economic violence. Unlike the other two broad categories, the subcategories of collective violence suggest possible motives for violence committed by larger groups of individuals or by states. Collective violence that is committed to advance a particular social agenda includes, for example, crimes of hate committed by organized groups, terrorist acts and mob violence. Political violence includes war and related violent conflicts, state violence and similar acts carried out by larger groups. Economic violence includes attacks by larger groups motivated by economic gain – such as attacks carried out with the purpose of disrupting economic activity, denying access to essential services, or creating economic division and fragmentation. Clearly, acts committed by larger groups can have multiple motives.

The nature of violent acts

 The nature of violent acts can be:

• —physical;
• —sexual;
• —psychological;
• —involving deprivation or neglect.

     (THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN WRITTEN WITH THE HELP OF WHO PUBLICATIONS)