Violence is any act of aggression and abuse which causes or intends to cause injury , in some cases criminal , or harm to persons, and (to a lesser extent) animals or property. [1] The term "violence" also connotes an aggressive tendency to act out destructive behaviours.
Violence can be divided into two forms — random violence , which includes unpremeditated or small-scale violence, and coordinated violence, which includes actions carried out by sanctioned or unsanctioned violent groups —such as during war (ie. inter-societal violence ) and terrorism .
War
Since the Industrial Revolution , the lethality of modern warfare has steadily grown to levels considered universally dangerous. As a practical matter, warfare on a massive scale is considered to be a direct threat to the prosperity and survival of individuals, cultures, societies, and the world's living populations. However, death per involved populations' size has significantly decreased, due in part to the involvement of populations pressuring their governments to enact more human fighting strategies and or opposition to war itself.
Law
One of the main functions of law is to regulate violence. Indeed, the sociologist Max Weber famously stated that the state is a monopoly on violence ). That is to say "Violence" also refers to the means used by authorities in order for their decisions to be applied.
Certain forms and degrees of violence are socially and/or legally sanctioned, and some result from legal action, while others constitute crimes within a specific society . Different societies apply different standards relating to sanctioned and non-sanctioned forms of violence. Degrees of violence that are accepted by a society's norms are commonly regarded as cruel , and may be termed extra-normal violence . Violence used in terrorism is often normal in terms of degree.
Violence can be unilateral, while fighting implies a reaction, at least a defensive one.
Here are some forms/conceptions of violence condemned/conceived by various legal entities :
Psychology and sociology
The causes of violent behaviour are often a research topic in psychology and sociology . Violence is often, but not always, a deviant behaviour .
The psychologist James W. Prescott performed a study about the cause of violence in the anthropological sense, which he mainly attaches to lack of mother-child bonding. He links repression of sexuality and punishment of children as a cause of violent societies.
Some writers ( Riane Eisler , Walter Wink , Daniel Quinn ) have suggested that violence - or at least the arsenal of violent strategies we take for granted - is a phenomenon of the last five to ten thousand years, and was not present in pre-domestication and early post-domestication human societies.
See also :
Prevention of violence
The World Health Organization in 2002 brought out a report on violence and health that concludes with specific recommendations on how societies can prevent violence. Irvin Waller in Less Law, More Order uses the WHO report and others to develop an evidence based proposal for a crime bill to prevent violence and save taxes.
Each year 24 million Americans are victims of crime. U.S. taxpayers spend more and more each year on police, prisons and judges--a record $200 billion at last count. Yet prestigious commissions show not only that this standard way of responding to crime is ineffective but that there is scientific proof that many projects that tackle risk factors that cause crime are effective. The book illustrates in convincing detail what needs to be done to prevent crime. Waller shows that hiring public health nurses and investing in helping youth at risk to complete school and get job training is better than hiring more police; preventing family violence, banning hand guns and dealing with drugs through public health saves more lives than incarceration; getting close neighbors to watch out for us and better industrial design are more effective than criminal courts; smarter policing is better than more police; paying for services to support victims and guaranteeing them rights is better than more rhetoric. Addressing the social issues that lead to crime, rather than addressing crime after it happens, or putting stiffer penalties in place, will contribute to creating a safer society and to keeping kids and adults from taking the wrong path toward a life of crime.
Violence in the media
Main article: graphic violence A highly debated topic is the influence of violent content in popular media such as film , television , music and video games .
Violence makes many appearances in these, much to the displeasure of parents and politicians. Violence in these media has led to censorship in extreme cases, and regulation in others, one case being the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board in 1994.
Violent content has been a central part of video game controversy , critics like Dave Grossman arguing that violence in games (some of which he calls "murder simulators") hardens children to unethical acts.
See also: Aestheticization of violence
Metaphorical violence
In Britain and continental Europe, the word "violence" is used in statements describing politics in a manner which would confuse those expecting such a physical word to be always taken literally. These stretch from Jean-Paul Sartre 's phrase "inert violence" as a metaphor for social injustice to the use of the word to refer to angry speeches within a parliament hall that attack and belittle individuals or groups.
Health and wellness
The World Health Organization (WHO, [1] ) estimates that each year around 1.6 million lives are lost world-wide due to violence. It is among the leading causes of death for people ages 15-44, youth violence being evermost in the rise. Its impact is greater among the male than the female population.
On October 3, 2002, the WHO launched the first World Report on Violence and Health [2] . In it, violence is defined 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."
