VIOLENCE

One of my friends hates watching the news because, in his own words, “It is always the bad news that gets reported”. Most of the bad news that gets reported is connected, in one way or another, with violence. In my opinion violence making the headlines is good news. It indicates that violence is not the norm of the society; it still shocks people. But there are some kinds of violence that are very scarcely reported and are eating away at the very fabric of the modern society. These are child abuse, emotional harassment, sexual harassment and rape.

The reason why these crimes against humanity go unreported is that in each case the affected party is unable to speak. An abused child does not speak out because he or she does not know who to tell and what to say. Likewise an emotionally or sexually harassed person may be too ashamed to tell the tale of his/her misfortune fearing ridicule. About rape, it is patent that the common reaction to a woman’s rape is that she must have led him on. It is also patent that each of these crimes leaves a scar on the personality of the victim. The victims of these crimes lose confidence in themselves and others. They start mistrusting kind gestures of ordinary well-meaning folks. They become solitary, moody and uncommunicative. Their brains however need activity and all they have to draw on is their shame. So they brood over it. Usually the brooding leads to the thoughts of getting even with the attacker and if the attacker appears to be inaccessible, which often is the case, then the brooding takes a rather nasty turn and the victim starts thinking of getting even with the whole society. This leads to further crime.

The rather ugly scenario that I have put forward, above, is a result of several thought experiments. In each case the main problem that comes to mind is that the victim is unable to speak for one reason or another. So my advice to victims of violence is: talk about it. Talking about your pain may not make the pain go away but it will let others know and some of them may know how to help you forget about the incident and get on with your life. Luckily the modern society knows about the problem and there are experts who know how to help victims of violence cope with their problems. So if you are a victim of violence or misuse, talk about it to experts. Your doctor can help set up an appointment with a psychologist, or your school may have a hotline. Remember, pain free you can be more useful to the Society.