Violence is the intentional use of force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself (self-abuse or suicide), another person (child abuse, partner violence, elder abuse, assault on strangers, etc.), or against a group or community (social, economic, or political violence). It can result in injury, death, psychological harm, or deprivation.
Young people are of often victims of violence. Check out these statistics:
- Nearly half of all adolescent girls think a husband is justified in hitting his partner
- 1/5 of all homicide victims are under 19; almost 1/3 of them are under 10
- 6 out of 10 children globally are subjected to physical punishment
- Almost 1/4 of 15-19 year old girls have been victims of physical violence
- 4 out of 5 children aged 2 to 14 are subjected to some kind of violent discipline in their homes
What can you do as a peacemaker? Bring together people in your neighborhood or school/college to talk about how violence, in all of its forms, affects members of your community. Try making sure people in your community have information about how violence exists in many forms, their rights and places they can go for support.