ABUSE
The conflicts began when human beings first started to socialise. To find a solution to these problems, we have different channels that, regrettably, include the violent response far too often. You only need to take a look around you to realise the extent to which violence is present in all areas of our life.
Violence can take on many forms. It can be individual or social, explicit or implicit. It can be directed at women, children, minorities, it can manifest itself in the form of terrorism and arise in such wide-ranging areas as the community or sport. However, what we must never forget is that, apart from affecting the victims, it also affects our social structures. Just think how society has been affected by the fact that gender violence has ceased to be considered a domestic matter to be kept in each family’s privacy, and is now publicly condemned.
These days, we also find it difficult to identify some cases of abuse. On one hand there is physical violence, which is the most visible and which causes physical abuse. But we mustn’t overlook psychological abuse, whose effects may be less evident to the eye, but which can be more harmful in the long term. A person who is made to feel useless, put down by the pressure from another, will not be able to recognise a situation that is not only damaging to the person but to all society.
Experts from all over the world who are working in the Queen Sofía Centre for the Study of Violence, show particular concern for the role played by the media in the configuration of social standards. They believe that television and film in particular are incredibly violent, which contributes to the appearance of damaging effects in the viewers. This does not mean that the media is the main cause of violence in real life, but it has been proved to provoke an imitation of conduct and to a certain extent it makes the population immune to violence.
Different studies conclude that violent behaviour comes from an interaction between biological and environmental factors, so genetic determination is as important as education or the surroundings. This demands the development of educational practices that promote personal responsibility and tolerance, as well as the creation of institutional channels for the non-violent settlement of conflicts. These needs have been put forwards due to the changing nature of our modern-day society, characterised by the globalisation of culture and the economy, growing inequality and diversity, as well as the tremendous pressure that people have to suffer.