This is an insight written by Stella Hudson on the recent Bahá’í Chair for World Peace Symposium on “Inequalities and the Increased Risk of Political Violence” co-sponsored by the Critical Race Initiative and the Department of African American Studies on October 12, 2021.
What images does the word “violence” conjure? Perhaps it evokes ideas of war, weapons, fistfights, domestic violence, or even violent movies, or cartoon violence. For most people, it does not naturally lead to thoughts of economics. However, this is the connection that Professor Anke Heofler focused on in her October 12th talk, “What are the Global Costs of Violence?” as part of the Inequalities and the Increased Risk of Political Violence Symposium.
Professor Hoeffler talked about the many ways that people and the world pay for the cost of violence, not only in lives lost, but in societal harm, lost development, medical bills, infrastructure damage, and psychological suffering. Civil wars are the most prevalent form of armed conflict. In a civil war, not only are people killed and displaced, but the country loses the months and years of development it could have achieved during peace.
As Professor Hoeffler pointed out, violence and war are not synonymous. The majority of violence is interpersonal, not collective. Men are the most affected by collective, interpersonal, and intrapersonal violence. In some Latin American countries, homicide is the leading cause of death in men under 30. When the violence women face is examined, another distinct pattern is observed. Women are less likely than men to be killed by a stranger, and more likely to be killed by someone they know. Around 40% of women who are killed are killed by a current or former partner. Statistically, a partner is the most dangerous person in a woman’s life, and for both women and children, the place they are most likely to experience violence is in their own homes.
Violence is clearly a big issue, one that affects millions of people around the world, but is it something that is inherent to human nature and society? Should we accept that violence in its many forms will always be a part of our lives?
The Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 say no. They want to reduce all forms of violence and completely end violence against children by 2030. This is a big goal to achieve in a short amount of time. While Professor Heoffler has been seeing significant improvement through cost-effective teacher and parent training programs that educate about the developmental psychology of children and provide alternatives to physical discipline, I don’t think programs like this will be enough.
Programs like this are necessary, but they will only be effective in communities where the root cause of violence is cultural tradition or lack of education. Places, where corporal punishment for children is used and even seen as positive, exist all over the world, including in America, however, there are also many places where physical punishments are already seen as taboo or even abusive. Yet children are still subjected to violence in these places. There are places where domestic violence is seen as immoral, yet it still occurs.
There are two key areas that, if improved, could significantly decrease interpersonal violence in America. The first is improved access to mental health care. For many people, violence is a cycle, their parents spanked them, so they spank their children. For others, violence is a response to unprocessed trauma or other emotions that could be dealt with in a healthier way, to the benefit of everyone. There is almost no problem that can’t at least be improved with a functioning, equitable, and accessible mental health care system.
The second is judicial reform. In many cases, young people are condemned to a life of violence and crime after a conviction makes it impossible for them to get a good education or job. This negative impact also disproportionately affects African Americans, especially black men. Additionally, it can be incredibly hard for children to find a safe home. If they are able to speak up and seek help, they are often put into the foster care system, which itself is not free from violence.
Both women and men who face intimate partner violence or sexual assault have to face a gauntlet of challenges when trying to get help and justice. Will they be believed? Will they be crucified in the media? Will they have to discuss painful things in front of a crowd in a courtroom? Will they be able to protect themselves and their loved ones if their attacker is free? Questions like these weigh heavily on the mind, and choices are not made easier by the dismissal, apathy, or disbelief that many face when they try to speak up.
Young privileged men who violently attack women often go unpunished. It can be disheartening to try to end violence against children and women when men who have been accused of physical and sexual violence against women serve in every level of government in all parties. Ending all violence against children is a worthy but idealistic goal. The reality is that there are violent people in the world. Until the judicial and legal systems work to protect their communities and rehabilitate citizens rather than to oppress people of color and fund for-profit prisons, the systems will continue to perpetuate and preserve cycles of violence.
About the Author:
Stella Hudson is a Graduate Assistant with the Baha’i Chair for World Peace. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2021 with a B.A. in English. She is attending the University of Maryland and pursuing a Master’s of Library and Information Science.