The Human Science of Violence: Researching Roots & Prevention

Greg Malszecki, Ph.D

LaMarsh Research Centre on Violence & Conflict Resolution

&

School of Kinesiology & Health Science in the new

Faculty of Health, York University

Forms of Violence in Interpersonal Conflicts, Militarism, Eco-killing

• “Violence is the antithesis of creativity and wholeness. It destroys community and makes humanity impossible.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

• “There can be no peace as long as there is grinding poverty, social injustice, inequality, oppression, environmental degradation, and as long as the weak and small continue to be downtrodden by the mighty and powerful.”---Dalai Lama

What is Violence?

• Use of physical force to hurt, damage, or kill a person, persons, property, communities, or earth

• Domestic violence of spouse, children, family, elders either physical/sexual abuse

• Interpersonal violence in schools, sports, dating, assault, rape, murder, war, ethnic cleansing

• Corporate violence on workers, people, ecology• Political violence of sexism/racism, policing,

ethnic cleansing, genocide, and war• continuum of violence from threat to genocide

Inadequate Theories of Violence

• Biological explanations: genetics, drives, testosterone, teeter-totter brain, no signals

• Behavioural explanations: human instinct a la Freud, learned aggression, frustration, wrong parenting, violent subcultures, ethnic disposition, faulty role-playing, media-generated imagery, psychological deficiencies, criminal personality

• Evolutionary explanations: birthing trauma, animal regression, differentiating sexes, “man-the-hunter”, historical imprints, moral/legal civilizing processes & definitions, violent cultures

Problems in these Approaches

• Violence has a gender: males excel at it!• Biological explanations do not account for

individual agency/cross-cultural patterns• Behavioural explanations do not account

for the complex social causes of violence, e.g. unemployment nor refusal of violence

• Violence does not occur spontaneously• Violence often instrumental to “prove”

masculinity & virility by males, yet not all

Recent Examples

• American school shootings• Gang shootings in Toronto• Domestic violence & child assault reporting• Catholic priests convictions for pedophilia• Impact of cumulative increase in media violence• Light penalties for environmental criminals• Increased need for respect in the face of equalizing of

sexes: Montreal Massacre’89• At the beginning of 2003, there were thirty wars (conflicts

claiming more than 1000 lives)• Violence increasing, not decreasing: torture “acceptable”

Sample: Testosterone=Aggression

• Robert Sapolsky, “Tesosterone rules!” (1998): t-levels cannot predict which males will be violent

• ‘boys will be boys’—but environmental triggers of aggression work to release the hormone into the system

• Even if much higher levels are introduced, social environment plays a major role in subsequent behaviour

• Biology is NOT destiny in the male: stereotype disproved in labs & field studies; “normal” N.A. males not violent

• Even castration does not result in no aggression• Critical to remember the limits of biology: meaningless

outside of the context of social factors of human milieu

Preventing Violence

James Gilligan (2000): almost every act of violence preventable, if it is a priority

• Abolish moral/legal approach as vicious cycle but treat it as a public health threat

• Shame & perceived disrespect triggers for violence—restores self-esteem (but not females)

• Social causes: relative poverty/jobless rate, caste rankings, shame culture, wars, gender role

• Violence “proves” masculinity (as homophobia)

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War & Society

• Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (1996): most researchers + gen. public never recognize resistance to killing as nearly universal

• Killing is traumatic: easier from a distance• Factors: demands of authority, group

absolution, emotional distance, type of victim, killer’s predisposition, death-math: training, recent experiences, temper

• What are we doing to our children? Media!

What Every Person Should Know about War (2003)

• Chris Hedges, NY Times war correspondent, authored War is a Force that gives us meaning

• Bullets travel 730 m/s over a kilometre; 40% combat deaths = head/neck wounds

• Of past 3400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 8% of them

• Between 1900-1990, 43 million soldiers died but 62 million civilians; in the 1990s, civilian deaths were between 75-90% of all war deaths

• Most recruits MUST be trained to kill (Pavlovian)

Investigating War as Violence

• Gwynne Dyer, War, New Edition (2004)

• Joshua Goldstein, War & Gender (2001)

• Barbara Ehrenreich, Blood Rites (1997)

• David Jones, Women Warriors (1997)

• Joseph Kuypers, Man’s Will to Hurt (1992)

• Glen Stassen, Just Peacemaking (1998)

• Howard Zinn, Just War (2005)

Elimination of Violence

• Elizabeth Stanko, Violence Research Program, (London, England)

• Centre for Peace Studies (U of T) & LaMarsh Research Centre (York U.)

• UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948) authored by John Peters Humphrey (Can.)

UN Sec-Gen’s Study of Violence Against Children (June 2005)

• Covers family, community, schools, media, other institutions + esp. vulnerable kids

• Identifies gaps in research & stats info

• “Evidence demonstrates that these violations…have serious & lifelong effects on children’s devel. & society as a whole”

• “…what happens to you as a child will stay with you the rest of your life” 13 yr old girl

Situation Urgent: Global Priority

• Annual estimates US $ billions: UN (1998) basic education for all humanity: 6

water/sanitation for all: 9 basic health/nutrition for all: 13• Ice cream bought in EU: 11• Pet Food costs in USA & Europe: 17• Narcotic Drugs globally: 400• Military Spending globally: 780

Youth: Take a look at choices

• 3rd Marines at Fallujah (music--Korn)• Free Hugs Campaign (music-sick puppies)• Howard Zinn on war (Youtube)• VRP Site• Peace Brigades• War Child site• UNICEF• PAEP

LaMarsh Research Centre@YorkU

• Focuses on violence, youth, & health

• has Child/Youth Violence Research Group

• Home of Canadian Initiative for Prevention of Bullying (develops awareness & tools)

• Offers Brazilian Ball funds for Seed Grants & Research Development Grants aimed at reducing violence in the lives of children & youth, plus Graduate Awards for students

Faculty Research Programs@ LaMarsh{contact Centre Coordinator,

Irene Backhouse <lamarsh@yorku.ca>}Dr. Jennifer Connolly: Teen Relationship Project

on dating violence & harassment

Dr. Debra Pepler: CIPB national program to study & stop bullying in school/ peers

Dr. Des Ellis: Risk Management for predicting domestic violence@separation

Dr. Greg Malszecki: research on violence in sport at all levels & gender/homophobia

Dr. Trevor Hart: Teen Sexuality/SelfHealth&Peers

What to do?

• Support anti-violence education and anti-bullying along with peace efforts & personal responses

• Acknowledge the male gender of violence: key• Redefine theories by including social context• Take profit/pleasure out of pain: cruelty desensit.• Destroy weapons and use of force: end fighting

culture and refuse it as a solution to all conflict • Admit negative role of media: inform investors• Seek partnerships & promote health through

absolute insistence on all essential human rights

Conclusion

“What is conditioned can be deconditioned. Men can change” --

Catherine Itzin

“Witnessing violence teaches you violence and makes you hate.” --

Adolescent, Sask. Youth in Care & Custody Network

“if it is to be, it is up to me”

The state of inner readiness is known as hope

“Spring when flowers burst out of hard patches of wintered land makes growth

look so easy, but do not be fooled; growth is the process of staying with what seems futile and useless and

ungiving and barren until it becomes something that we know was worth

doing. Growth is the process of finally finding good where for a while no good

seemed to be”—Joan Chittister, feminist theologian &

ecologist

This is where you come in…