Violence in South Africa and its impact on mental health
Introduction
According to the World Health Organization in the World Report on Violence and Health, violence is defined as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened as actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation”. (Krug E, Dahlberg L, Mercy J. et al.2002).
The definition is further, divided into three categories, according to who has committed the violent act. There is self-directed violence, where one intends in harming one`s self in acts of suicide resulting in death or parasuicide where death does not occur.
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Other types of violence includes: sexual violence, gender based violence, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, family violence, child maltreatment, youth violence, media violence, elder abuse, workplace violence, structural violence, armed conflict, new wars, complex emergencies, terrorism and genocide.
The South African homicide rate appears to be much higher when compared to the road traffic and suicide rates. The homicide rate is higher when compared to other regions. The suicide rate however cannot be seen as low. Easy access and availability of firearms and ammunition together with gang violence are also major leading factors to the violence. Over half of the homicide rates (54%) are firearm related. South Africa is placed among one of the most violent countries in the world with a standardized homicide rate (64.8 per 100 000). In Cape Town`s poorer townships of Khayelisha and Nyanga, violence within the male youth is reflected in extremely high homicide rates (451 and 485 per 100 000, respectively) in the 15-24 age group (Groenewald P, Bradshaw D, Nojilana B, Bourne D, Nixon J, Mohamed H, et al. 2003). Violent rapes and sexual offences are more prevalent in South Africa, mostly among women, children and even toddlers. South Africa has been termed the “rape capital of the world” (Human Rights Watch,
People in society have become unhappy with their lives, finding the solution with the idea of violence. When people think of no way of finding happiness, they plan to commit suicide. Using violence, people hurt themselves and eventually kill themselves. The news reporters investigate that the shooter behind the deadly rampage "apparently committed suicide after exchanging gun fires with officers" (Kravarik and Sidner 1). The man who kills for fun did not have a happy life.
Violence is unacceptable We are living in a turbulent world. On average, there are about 150,000 deaths every day because of diseases, old age, traffic accidents, and especially violence. The data from FBI indicates that in 2013, an estimated 1,163,146 violent crimes occurred in America, and somebody commits a hate crime every hour ("Violent Crime”). The fact that more and more gruesome murders happen shows that we are living in fear of violence, and this violence is unacceptable. FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program states that, “violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault,” ("Violent Crime”).
The article points out, “What is violence? It’s not just when somebody, or wars, it’s everything we see in society that makes people suffer.” That is to say, the concept of violence needs to go beyond physical harm and include the mental harm and other forms of harm suffered by people. I feel that this important because some of the most damaging harm that many people suffer is not physical, but mental.
The horrific stories that have been all over every news channel for the past few months about school shootings are hard to watch, but in reality less than two percent of homicides of youth between the ages of five and eighteen happen at school. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), youth violence is the intentional use of physical force or power against another person, group, or community, likely to cause physical or psychological harm. Although cases of youth violence have dropped since 1992, youth violence is still the third leading cause of death of youth ages fifteen to twenty-four, and is a major problem in the United States. Youth violence is a continuing problem in the United States, and this case proves why. On October 18, 2017, five teens set out to have some fun.
Some days crime rates are up and then the next they are down, what we do know is that America is becoming safer. In 2005, 11,346 persons were killed by firearm violence 477,040 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm, (National Institute of Justice). Surprisingly, a lot of gun violence in America is related to self defense. Between 1987 and 1990 it was found that guns were used in defense during a crime incident 64,615 times annually. This equates to two times out of 1,000 incidents (0.2%) that occurred in this time frame.
“Firearms amplify domestic violence, resulting in American women being 11 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than women in similar countries”(Gun Laws Matter). As an example of gun control in its works, Australia’s gun violence statistics show how successful these laws can be. “The chances of being murdered by a gun in Australia plunged to 0.15 per 100,000 people in 2014 from 0.54 per 100,000 people in 1996, a decline of 72 percent... In 1996, Australia had 311 murderers of which 98 were with guns.
Gun Violence Gun Violence has become a serious issue In the United Sates. “According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 467,321 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm in 2011. In the same year, data collected by the FBI show that firearms were used in 68 percent of murders, 41 percent of robbery offenses and 21 percent of aggravated assaults nationwide.” (NIJ). Most homicides are committed with firearms and the numbers continue to increase.
Introduction Looking at the nightly news, many would believe violent crimes are at an all-time high. There are not just one on one violent crimes or gang violent crimes. There is court shootings, school shootings, church shootings, theater shootings, mall shootings, workplace shootings, and others. Where most one on one crime is committed with illegal guns, mass shootings are done with handguns purchased legally.
This paper is written based on the issues raised in the article ‘Anna’s Story’. It will discuss the ‘cycle of violence’ and the reasons both psychological and physical why victims of domestic violence (DV) may resist leaving their situation. Key services that victims (Anna) require access to due to the situation will also be discussed, including the role of police beyond their task of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVO) and convicting perpetrators. The definition of DV is stated in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act, 2007, Section 11, “domestic violence offence means a personal violence offence committed by a person against another person with whom the person who commits the offence has or has had a domestic relationship”.
The problem with gun violence in schools has existed for years, and something should be done to eliminate the problem that endangers students who attend schools every day. One recent incident with gun violence in schools occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School where several young children were killed and many others injured (Elliott 529). Also, a bombing incident in 1927 killed thirty-seven children and was likely the start of school gun violence (Elliott 529). Children, who attend schools, sometimes do not feel safe because of the problem with gun
Today’s world is marked by violence and deaths. One of the major kinds of violence is the gun violence. In fact, the gun violence is literally any gun related violence or death. According to the 2013 report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of gun related deaths were equal to 33169 or 1.3% of all deaths in the country. This gun violence issue affects the population by the number of deaths but also on many other levels of life.
According to the World Health Organization, violence in healthcare settings can be physical or psychological. Physical violence is the use of physical force such as kicking, slapping, beating, shooting, punching, biting, against any other person or group, which causes harm to the victim. On the other hand, psychological violence is verbal abuse, that is; hounding, harassment, threatening against another person or group. To sum it up, violence, in whatever form, results in the harm of the mental, physical, spiritual, moral, and social development of the victim. (World Health Organization
The 20th century labelled, “the most violent century in human history” (golding). To explain the violence of the 20th century if one must look at all events of the intentionally harm done to others. This includes the violence caused by the two hundred and fifty-six wars inluding World War One and two, The Vietnam War, The Cold War which where almost 108 milion human lives have persihed and others haunted by the gruesome details that occurred during these events. One must also look at the the violence caused by seven genocides including the Holocaust, Armenian Genocide and Rwandan Genocide which killed eighteen million people.
This essay will give a clear overview of the concept and theories of structural violence and how the idea can be used to encourage more attention on the fundamental cause of poverty and disease. It will as well look at how structural violence has an impact on illness and health. Furthermore, how clinician can lessen the effect of structural violence. The term violence conveys an image of physical or emotional assault on a person.
Throughout the 17th-century gangs have been causing havoc in people's life and destroying the society. The National Institute of Justice (2011) has defined a gang as "A group of collective members which create an atmosphere of intimidation among citizens. " Many of these gangs are well organized, using different forms of violence to control neighbourhoods and to conduct their illegal activities. The National Gang Threat Assessment (2011) reports that “Gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions.” Street Gangs have caused incidences of violence that is confined in the inner city of many countries.