Violence is one of the main causes of death among the population. Every year, millions of people lose their lives violently and many others are injured and suffer a wide variety of mental, physical, sexual problems… With data from the 2010 report carried out by the WHO (World Health Organization), some 5.8 million people die each year as a result of trauma, accounting for 10% of all deaths recorded in the world. But what exactly is violence? Are there different types of violence? What are the types of violence?
In this Psychology-Online article we will address the concept of violence to understand it better. To achieve this, we will present the definition of the different types of violence and their characteristics.
What is violence
The wide variety of ethical codes in different countries around the world means that the concept of violence does not have a clear definition. The idea of what is or is not accepted behavior or violent behavior, as well as the idea of what causes harm, varies according to different cultures and remains subject to constant review.
It must be remembered that There are many different definitions of violence. depending on who does it and in the context in which it is done. Referring to official data, currently, the WHO defines violence as “the intentional use of physical force, threats against oneself, another person, a group or a community that results or is very likely to result in trauma, developmental problems or death.”
On the one hand, the definition excludes unintentional acts such as traffic or domestic accidents (for example, burns) and includes both interpersonal violence such as suicidal behavior and armed conflicts as well as acts beyond the physical: threats and intimidation and harm that do not necessarily result in death. This definition would also include those acts that compromise well-being of individualsfamilies and communities.
What are the types of violence
How many types of violence are there? The violence can be classified according to multiple criteria. The WHO divides the typologies of violence according to whether it is interpersonal, that is, acts committed by an individual or group of individuals, suicide and self-inflicted violence and, finally, collective violence (members of a group against another group or set of subjects). .
Another classification model would be the one carried out by José Sanmartín, who creates a taxonomy according to the type of action, damage caused, scenario or context in which it occurs, type of aggressor and type of victim. Below we show you the classification of the 15 types of violence:
Violence according to the type of damage caused
Violence according to the type of victim
- Violence against women.
- Violence against boys and girls.
- Violence against older people.
- Gender violence.
- Violence due to sexual orientation.
- Violence against people with disabilities.
Violence according to the area where it occurs
- Domestic or intrafamily violence.
- Violence in communities, in the streets and public spaces.
- Violence at school.
- Violence at work.
- Violence through the media and cyberspace.
1. Physical violence
The first of the types of violence that exists is physical violence. According to the Law Against Domestic Violence, this type of violence consists of all those “actions, behaviors or omissions that threaten or injure the physical integrity of a person.”
2. Psychological and emotional violence
Following the same Law, any direct or indirect action or omission whose purpose is control or degrade the actions, behaviors, beliefs and decisions of other people through intimidation, manipulation, direct or indirect threat, humiliation, isolation or any conduct or omission that produces damage to psychological health, self-determination, integral development and personal possibilities .
3. Sexual violence
Among the different types of violence we find sexual violence. What is sexual violence and what situations does it include? According to the WHO, sexual violence includes any sexual act, attempt to commit a sexual act, comments or unwanted sexual advancesas well as actions to commercialize or otherwise use a person’s sexuality through coercion by another person, regardless of the person’s relationship to the victim, in any setting, including the home and workplace.
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4. Economic or patrimonial violence
This type of violence is defined according to various areas:
- In the family environment: includes any action or omission of anyone who affects or prevents adequate attention to the needs of the family or any of the people referred to in this law; damages, loses, steals, destroys, retains, distracts or appropriates objects, instruments or property.
- In it National scope: includes attacks by larger groups motivated by the desire for economic gain, such as those carried out with the aim of disrupting economic activities, denying access to essential services or creating economic division and fragmentation.
- In violence against women: according to the LEIV, actions, omissions or conduct that affect the free disposal of a woman’s assets, including damage to common or personal property through the transformation, subtraction, destruction, distraction, damage, loss, limitation, retention of objects , personal documents, assets, securities and property rights.
5. Violence against women
Another type of violence is that which occurs against women. How is this type of violence described? According to the UN, “any act of violence based on belonging to the female sex that results or may result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, as well as threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life. private.”
6. Violence against children
Among the different types of violence that exist, one of the most worrying is violence against children. According to the Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, girls, boys and adolescents have the right to have their personal integrity respected, which includes the integrity physical, psychological, cultural, moral, emotional and sexual.
Consequently, they may not be subjected to any form of violence, such as abuse, exploitation, mistreatment, torture, inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment or punishment.
7. Violence against older people
Another type of violence present in today’s society is that directed at older people, who, along with young children, are one of the most vulnerable groups. According to the WHO, performing a single or repeated act or failing to take certain necessary measures, in the context of any relationship in which there are expectations of trust, and that cause harm or distress to an elderly person.
8. Gender violence
According to the Spanish Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender Violence approved in 2004, this type of violence is defined as that which is exercised as a manifestation of discrimination, the situation of inequality and relationships of power of men over women by their partners or ex-partners or by those who are or have been linked to them by similar emotional relationships, even in cases in which there is no cohabitation.
If you want to know more about it, in this article you will find more information about the .
9. Violence due to sexual orientation
According to Doctors of the World, this type of violence can have different expressions, from discrimination to exercise their rights such as denial of employment or educational opportunities, harassment, interference with their privacy, sexual assaultseven torture, ill-treatment and murders motivated by hate.
All these signs of violence are frequently aggravated by the experience of other attacks or manifestations of hatred, discrimination and exclusionsuch as those based on race, age, religion, disability or economic or social condition, among other examples.
10. Violence against people with disabilities
Violence against people with disabilities is all that distinction, exclusion or restriction based on disabilityhistory of disability, consequence of previous disability or perception of a present or past disability, which has the effect or purpose of preventing or nullifying the recognition, exercise or enjoyment of people with disabilities, as well as their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
11. Domestic or intrafamily violence
Another type of violence is what happens at home or among family members. Any action or omission, direct or indirect, that causes harm, physical, sexual, psychological suffering or death to the members of a family and the ways in which it is manifested can be psychological, physical, sexual and patrimonial violence.
In the following articles we talk in depth about domestic violence.
12. Violence in communities, on the streets and public spaces
This type of violence includes street crimes, assaults, road violence, gangs, homicide, rape… that is, it includes all those crimes that occur on public roads.
13. Violence at school
Violence at school is another type of violence that, unfortunately, we can find on many occasions today. Within this type of violence we can differentiate two types:
- Violence that occurs inside the school: as various forms of abuse and discrimination among schoolchildren.
- Violence that occurs from school towards young people: such as that produced by the imposition of discipline models that violate human rights.
14. Violence at work
Among the types of violence that exist, we find the violence in the workplace. Violence at work or workplace harassment can be defined as any Fform of systematic and repeated aggression (that is, habitual psychological abuse) by one or more people against another person (or more) at work.
This type of violence is manifested by a sequence of hostile, degrading or intimidating actions, with the aim of breaking their communication networks in the environment and isolate the person from their environment to reinforce their position of dominance, legal and social, without thinking about the possible consequences for their physical or mental health. On some occasions, this type of violence can also be seen as violence against women.
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15. Violence through the media and cyberspace
Very linked to violence…