Structural violence is the way in which a social structure will harm people by not providing, by limiting or by barring people from receiving basic needs. Structural violence impacts people on the bottom rung of society. People who live in poverty or are not considered being of a high social standing. This could be because of a person’s age, sex, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, or any other aspect that makes them different from the majority of the population or different from what people consider to be the norm. However, structural violence does not necessarily need the majority of the population to define it, it can manifest by a few people in the country or out making decisions for the populace.
Structural violence differs from direct violence. Direct violence is brutal and flashy and gets a reaction from people who find out about what has happened. Structural violence is almost invisible, it is almost always seen as the way things have always been done or considered not as bad as it could be. Structural violence does not need to be bloody and brutal like direct violence; it can be as ordinary as inadequate schools in inner cities operating in rundown buildings with rooms over packed with students. Structural violence, however, is often times causes more suffering and pain than direct violence will and is harder to stop.
Who are the victims of structural violence? Often these victims are considered to be members of a low economic class. This does not necessarily mean they live in poverty. It is a miscomprehension that only people in third world countries or that the developing world is the only place we find structural violence. This violence happens in almost every country, the only reason we do not see it is (a) tha...
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...be a better place without these things. However the world also needs these things to survive. The way to counter structural violence is to be aware and to regulate working conditions, government policies, and the basic needs people receive and to treat people decently. I’m still not a hundred percent sure on how people will do this.
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Coady then claims that the structural view is counterintuitive; specifically, he points out that our ordinary usage of the term rarely refers to many non-physical acts, such as those of social injustices. For this reason it seems that the structural view appears to be overly general, in which it is confusing and unhelpful. Moreover it appears as if the proponents of the structural view over-moralize it when they endorse certain social reforms that will supposedly eliminate all structural violence. Claims like this seem to assume that all violence is morally wrong. This assumption is itself dubious if we are to trust the common intuition in cases similar to the active shooter case mentioned earlier.
Aggression, violence, and victimization are remarkably dynamic terms. How these terms are understood and defined is shaped by formal and informal social policies and controls (Goldstein, 1986). Excluding assertiveness from the definition of aggression as it relates to violence, aggression can be considered to encompass behaviors intended to cause physical or psychological harm. Violence may be understood as an extreme form of aggression, in which the intent of the perpetrator is to cause serious harm (Berkowitz, 1993). Anthropological research on various non-western cultures demonstrates that aggression and violence are not necessarily inevitable, nor are they universal (Goldstein, 1986). Like words and manners, as Elias points out, the concepts transform over time, and vary across and within cultures (Fletcher, 1997).
An occurrence of violence is typically companied with controlling and emotionally abusive behavior which makes up a small amount of the pattern that is part of the dominance and control of the partner inflicting the abuse. Some effects of intimate partner violence include physical injury, trauma psychologically, and even death in extreme cases. The occurrence of domestic violence can go one for someone’s entire life and it can even be passed down to future generations. This happens when the abuse is not reported or dealt with and the children begin to see it on a regular basis making it something that they know as a second nature thing that happens. In occurrences of domestic violence, violence is not equal which means that even if victim their abuser back or initiates more violence to diffuse a situation, the violence is not the same. Whenever abuse occurs there is always one person who is the “primary, constant, source of power, control, and abuse in the relationship” (NCADV,
Domestic violence can be described as any form of abuse towards a victim, whether physical, emotional, sexual, verbal, psychological, or economical. The stakeholders in such violence are the abuser(s), the victim(s) and the bystander(s), all of whom are affected in some form or another by the abuse. For further clarity, domestic violence in this discussion refers to situations where the principle stakeholders, i.e. abuser and victim are in a relationship, for example partners, co-workers or friends. Domestic violence affects all stakeholders, not only the victim but the abuser and bystanders, and it can be easily prevented.
Patriarchal Terrorism is general need to control a relationship. It is violence exclusively initiated by men as a way of gaining and maintaining absolute control over their female partner. (Shehan, 2003) The second form of couple violence, is common couple violence, is less a product of patriarchy. (Johnson, 1995) Patriarchal terrorism does exist today. Differences do not exist in intimate violence based on social class, education level, race / ethnicity or sexual orientation. Intimate violence is violence that occurs between two people in a relationship. It includes four types of behaviors: physical abuse, sexual abuse, threats, and emotional abuse. The longer the abuse goes on the longer it will affect the victim. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006) Partner violence occurs in all countries, social, economic, religious and cultural boundaries. (Shehan, 2003) I have observed couples with good communication and poor communication and intimacy. Dr. Gottman and his colleagues created recommendations, tactics, and strategies for couples with poor communication, intimacy and conflict problems.
It consists of a pattern of coercive behaviors used by a competent adult to establish and maintain power and control over another competent adult”. (Experiencing and Witnessing Domestic Violence on School Aged Children p.g 584). It is an act of dominating and controlling the partner who lacks power. It can happen to anyone, anywhere where spouses and intimate partners are living together. This usually occurs in marriage, cohabitation where people are living together under the same roof. There is not only one kind of domestic violence rather it takes place in various forms such as verbal abuse, physical abuse , emotional and sex abuse. It doesn’t only happen in heterogeneous relationship; rather it can also occur in homogeneous
Because of the use of numerous readings we were able to discuss and have a meaningful understanding of interpersonal violence including intimate partner violence, stranger violence and child abuse. This paper showed the differences in male/female offenders and victims and showed different crimes. These studies proved that things change throughout the years; such as who the offender and victim are, what makes them offenders of victims and the places and crimes committed.
McLaughlin, Greg, and Stephen Baker. The Propaganda of Peace. Bristol, UK: Intellect Ltd., 2010. Print.
Domestic violence consists of verbal, financial, emotional, sexual, and physical abuse within the household, generally involving partners and families. This occurrence of violence is acted to gain and maintain control over somebody. Abusers have the tendency to enforce fear, guilt, shame and intimidation to brainwash and maintain power. The...
4. Dodge, Kenneth A., John E. Bates, and Gregory S. Pettit. 1990. “Mechanisms in the Cycle of Violence.” Science 250: 1678–83.
“Violence is not solely an urban problem. Violence has touched the lives of families and children across the country: in rural areas, in the suburbs and in the inner city. Domestic violence can occur anywhere. Child abuse and community violence occur with more frequency in areas where there is a high rates of drug use. This correlation speaks to the need for addressing issues of poverty and inequity in this country as one strategy for reducing
Domestic abuse and child abuse have widespread social and emotional costs. Family violence affects all segments of the family. The impact of violence on childrens' lives appears to be far more substantial than the impact on adults lives(Family, Pg. 1). In most cases of family violence the family has conformed to a pattern in which the line of family violence started generations ago. This pattern must be broken before more children growup and live in a family that resorts to violence. But there are also children who live in loving families who do not resort to violence and as these children mature they start resorting to violence to help solve and deal with their problems. Studies show that physical punishment could cause aggression in children, but other studies show that even abusive parental violence does not always lead to an increase in children's aggression. Only by recognizing and addressing the multifactorial roots of violence in our society can we move closer to living in peace.
Though it happen frequently, many believed that child abusers are usually mentally disordered people. Less than one tenth of the abusers are reported to be mentally ill, in most cases the abusers are normal human beings. Their personalities tend to be a bit immature, which leads to physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Child abuse tends to spring up from a composite blend of personal, cultural and social factors. That cause’s child abuse can be grouped as intergenerational transmission of violent behavior, social and communal stress, social isolation, and family structure. Intergenerational transmission of aggression and violent behavior often children tend to inherit as well as learn aggression and violence from their parents. Social and communal stress the risk of child abuse within a family increases due to social stress, which may result from a variety of factors. Social isolation the abusers, parents or caretakers, in most cases are found to be socially isolated. These aggressors mostly tend to be the victims of seclusion having little contact with the outside world. Family Structure some families are more prone to the danger of child abuse and neglect, compared to others. For instance, a single- parent family faces more problems, economically as well as socially, resulting in greater stress, and thereby gets exposed to the increased risk of child abuse (Daly,
As the exposure to violence prolongs, a child begins to believe that violence is an acceptable behavior or the answer to receiving what they want. Outcomes such as trauma, emotional disorders, stress, and behavioral problems are also prevalent as the exposure to violence occurs. Children often learn their behavior from adults or peers and although a child might not be physically involved, but even being an audience, he/she is learning the negative behavior. There must be an effort to put a stop to violence in schools, households, or even in communities as it affects children greatly.
...sed to legitimize violence in its direct or structural form. Cultural violence is usually associated with one's country that is economically or socially unstable, like India for example. Dowry is an example of cultural violence. Even though India is prospering, it also has its share of poverty. Indian families arrange the daughter’s marriage to a wealthier family hoping it would get them out of the lower class but it usually makes the bride’s family even poorer. Poverty is usually on of the main causes of cultural violence.