How to protect children from violence
Children are especially vulnerable to violence because they are developing individuals and violence, whether direct or indirect, leaves an indelible mark on their development, a mark that will mark them forever. For this reason, it is essential to know how to protect children from violence, help them make sense of the violence they see and / or live and, in this way, avoid the negative consequences of it in their development.
The violence has always been present in human societies. Today, we are still far from eliminating violent acts and are a dominant note in the individual and group interactions that occur between people and groups of people. Violence in the world spreads like a plague and reaches all corners directly or indirectly. This extension is not alien to the most vulnerable, it is not alien to childhood. There are many children who are affected by violent acts, in the worst case they suffer directly and at best they are witnesses to acts that they still do not know how to explain.
What do we mean by violence?
Violence is a complex concept, in that it assumes different forms. Regardless of the form assumed, we can define violence as the act, behavior, and / or attitude that intentionally sets in motion in order to cause damage or submission (physical, psychological, sexual, verbal ...) to another person or collective, leaving a permanent mark in the development of the person / s or collectivity. Violence is any action intended to attempt against the physical, psychological, sexual or moral integrity of another being or group.
The consequences of violence on children
When children are exposed to violence, either because they suffer directly, or because they witness it on a daily basis, there is an impact on their development, an impact that leaves its silent mark forever.
A recent investigation by the University of London, led by Dr. Eamon McCrory, shows that children who have been the direct victims of abuse learn a pattern to protect themselves and become hypervigilant. The brain areas in charge of detecting threats are more sensitive and activate alertness more frequently, causing great emotional and cognitive wear and generate a very intense level of anxiety. Researchers say that the reaction of boys and girls is the same as that of soldiers after the war.
The dangers of this activation are indisputable, from mood disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks, to behavioral disorders, it is not uncommon for these children to respond with violence, to phobic disorders, etc.
Tips to protect children from violence
We can not protect them from violence in a world where it is such a widespread reality, but we can protect them from their consequences and educate them to prevent them from suffering violent acts.
1. Prevention and awareness. To prevent children from suffering violence and being victims of any of its manifestations (abuse, abuse, harassment, etc.) it is essential to educate for prevention and awareness. Teach them to set limits, to say no and to condemn these acts. It is very important that they know how to recognize acts of violence and that they know how to ask for help.
2. Emotional education and values. To protect them from the consequences of violence when they are exposed to them indirectly, it is very important to have an emotional education and an education in values that make it possible for them to develop resilience and a criterion that allows them to make sense of the situations they have lived. This does not mean accepting them, but knowing how to condemn them from peace.
Violence in the civilized world
The violence should be eradicated in our "civilized" world, which apparently defends contrary values. In a civilized world where people differ from animals, precisely because of our ability to reason, not to let ourselves be carried away by primary impulses, by being tolerant and thus able to understand difference. In a society where people are able to collaborate and understand that the good of all is above and is more beneficial than the individual good, and where people have the ability to develop non-violent strategies to solve conflicts. In a civilized world, where we know all this, violence has not yet been eradicated.
Violence grows in societies where competitiveness and individualistic values are emphasized. In this type of society it is understood that the end is above the means, it does not matter to whom, or how many are harmed, as long as the proposed goals are achieved. The law of the strongest, implies a sálvese who can, in a struggle to be the strongest, to achieve their own goals and protect themselves from others in this fight.
The origin of violence
Violence is an inseparable characteristic of the values of current societies. We live in a violent world, with violent societies, where children suffer and are exposed to a continuous bombardment of violence. Future adult children grow and develop in a climate plagued by violence and thus become the source of violence.
Violence has its origin in small acts, in day to day life, in families and in schools. Those small acts that we let pass, that we observe passively are the germ of the great violent acts that then surprise us and scandalize us.
The need for a education against violence is the origin and the key for a better world.
Celia Rodríguez Ruiz. Clinical health psychologist. Specialist in pedagogy and child and youth psychology. Director of Educa and Learn. Author of the collection Stimulate Reading and Writing Processes.
