Violence

Colegio Benemérito de las Américas

Violence

Agua Prieta, Sonora May 13th 2012

Violence
Violence is defined by the World Health Organization as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which eitherresults in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm.
Globally, violence takes the lives of more than 1.5 million people annually: just over 50% due to suicide, some 35% due to homicide, and just over 12% as a direct result of war or some other form of conflict. For each single death due to violence, there are dozens of hospitalizations, hundreds of emergencydepartment visits, and thousands of doctors' appointments. Furthermore, violence often has life-long consequences for victims' physical and mental health and social functioning and can slow economic and social development.

Typology of violence
The typology divides violence into three broad categories according to characteristics of those committing the violent act:
* self-directed violence
*interpersonal violence
* collective violence
The nature of violent acts, on the vertical axis, can be:
* physical
* sexual
* psychological
* involving deprivation or neglect

Self-directed violence
Self-directed violence is subdivided into suicidal behavior and self-abuse. The former includes suicidal thoughts, attempted suicides – also called ‘‘para suicide’’ or‘‘deliberate self-injury’’ in some countries – and completed suicides. Self-abuse, in contrast, includes acts such as self-mutilation. WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS FOR
What are the risk factors for self-directed violence?
A variety of stressful events or circumstances can put people at increased risk of harming themselves including the loss of loved ones, interpersonal conflicts with family or friends and legalor work related problems. To act as precipitating factors for suicide, though, they must happen to someone who is predisposed or otherwise especially vulnerable to self-harm.
Predisposing factors include: alcohol and drug abuse a history of physical or sexual abuse in childhood social isolation psychiatric problems such as mood disorders, schizophrenia and a general sense of hopelessness.Other significant factors include: having access to the means to kill oneself (most typically guns, medicines and agricultural poisons) physical illnesses, especially those that are painful or disabling having made a previous suicide attempt.
Certain social and environmental factors also increase the likelihood of suicide. Rates of suicide, for instance, are higher during economic recessions andperiods of high unemployment. They are also higher during periods of social disintegration, political instability and social collapse.

Interpersonal violence
Interpersonal violence is divided into two subcategories: Family and intimate partner violence – that is, violence largely between family members and intimate partners, usually, though not exclusively, taking place in the home. Former groupincludes 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.
Interpersonal violence is unfortunately part of the social landscape for many American children.Physicians who care for children and adolescents may find it challenging to incorporate techniques to "screen and intervene" for violence. In order to guide these youth toward safety, the clinician must recognize the scope of the problem, understand the risk factors for violent injury, apply this knowledge to clinical practice, and either refer clients to or implement interventions on behalf of these...