Hawaii Violence Prevention

Violence against children is an issue of public health worldwide. In the United States alone, 1,740 children died from abuse and neglect in 2008 and child protective services victimized 772,000 children, according for the Center for Disease Controls.

Types of Violent Behavior and its Consequences

Abuse of children under the age of 18 can taken on a number of forms and be perpetrated by any adults, such as, a caregiver, a coach, a teacher, or a member of the clergy. In addition to physical violence, abuse can be sexual, emotional or neglect. Emotional abuse is when an adult damages a child emotionally through rejection, name calling, threatening, in addition other verbal and non-verbal communication. Neglect is when a child’s needs aren’t met, such as, housing, food, health care and education.

Children who have experienced these types of behavior have a higher chance of health problems as adults. Chronic disease, depression, obesity, and alcoholism are just a few of the problems the may face.

Factors that Increase Violence Against Children

There are a number of factors that can increase the chance of maltreatment of children although their presence doesn’t always mean that abuse has occurred. Family environment is a good indicator of violence against children. Homes where there is a lot of stress due to drug or alcohol abuse, long-term health problems, financial issues, social isolation, or a history of violence are more likely to harbor the maltreatment of children. A violent community can also allow child abuse to flourish.
Under these conditions, children 4 years old and younger are at the greatest risk for violence leading to serious injury and even death.

Positive Parenting Skills

The role of public health agencies is to prevent violence against children. Parents need support and to be taught positive parenting skills which include communication skills, suitable discipline methods and how to attend to children’s needs both physical and emotional. Programs for the prevention of violence against children also offer parents social support.

Parents play a major role in minimizing violent behavior in their children. According to the American Psychological Association aggressive behavior is learned at a young age, a time when parents can do something and help their children mature emotionally without resorting to violence.
Providing a secure environment where children can develop trust for their caregivers. When parents are involved in their child’s life, the likelihood of behavior problems decreases. If a parent finds offering consistent attention difficult, local parenting classes could help him learn how to handle difficult situations.
Supervising children’s activities also provides the necessary involvement to limit violent behavior. When a parent ensures supervision of their child, the child not only receives protection from others but also gains encouragement and support from adults they respect.
Modeling appropriate behavior is another way in which parents can teach children how to act. Rewarding a child’™s ability to solve problems without violence while valueing honesty and respect will encourage children to repeat their good behaviors. Being consistent about rules will also teach children how to behave. When children are provided with clear expectations and rules, life is less confusing for them. They know what is expected of them and what the repercussions are when they step over the line.
Providing a non-violent home also helps discourage violent behavior. Verbal abuse in addition to physical abuse can lead to violence. Even intense, hostile arguments between parents can set an example of poor behavior for children. Limiting exposure to violence in media also helps reduce violent behavior. Parents can do this by limiting television and by discussing what they do see on TV. It is important to help children understand the reality of the violence they see on TV.
Children also need to learn how to stand against violent behavior in others. Parents should teach children to respond to others calmly without threatening or hitting another.

Along with domestic violence, documented cases of school and cyber bullying have steadily increased over the years. Violence has become a widespread epidemic that forces its victims to suffer in silence, sometimes for years. The abused are often ashamed to ask for help or discuss the problem with friends or family. Teen violence is a growing problem that has resulted in death for far too many young people, and teenage girls as young as sixteen are in violent relationships with ongoing verbal and physical abuse from their partner. While it is not reported as often, men are also abused by their mates.

Learning to identify violent behavior is an important step in violence prevention. One of the best ways to detect violent behavior is by noting how the person treats other people. Disrespectful and cruel treatment of others are examples of a person who is capable of violence. Some common characteristics of a violent personality are quick tempers and unreasonable arguments, negative criticism or hurtful comments, and forced or degrading sexual activity. An essential key to personal safety and violence prevention is recognizing the signs of violent conduct. Knowing how to read the signs of abusive behavior is your strongest weapon for violence prevention.

Reports of violence on the road are being reported more frequently as well. To ensure your safety and prevent violence while driving you must remain calm and stay in control. If an altercation occurs call the authorities immediately. Using common courtesy when you are on the road will help you avoid a problem that could escalate and get out of hand. You will be cut off by a rude driver at some point, the best defense for violence prevention when this happens is to just let it go. Chasing or racing other drivers is bad judgement, and you should never risk your safety because an inconsiderate driver with a cell phone cut in front of you with almost no room to spare.

No one likes to be in a violent situation, nor in one that is uneasy and headed towards that direction. Violence is a very serious act that often starts with emotions that get out of control. Many things can contribute to violent behavior and outbursts that occur with people, but often after a situation has died down, no one can really pinpoint what happened to cause things to spark.

Situations that lead to violent behavior often start out innocently enough and escalate with the wrong look, the wrong words or anything else that sparks off the instigator. There are several indicators that a person can look for in situations that are potentially harmful, but here are very important ones to keep your eye on in case you’re ever involved in one:

- Know the Person
The best way to get to know a person is to do a little research and find out more about them. Do they have a temper? Do they always act out? Knowing these things can help the person involved avoid anything harmful or embarrassing. This is good only if you are acquainted with the person already. If you’re not:

- Watch the Person
If you don’t know what may set the person off, just sit back and watch them and look for other physical or verbal cues that would signal to you that a violent situation is about to erupt.

- Mind Your Business
If the person driving sporadically is not in your lane, don’t think that you have to take care of it. If they are in your lane and they become hostile or irate, stay calm and don’t cause a scene. Call the authorities if things get out of hand.

Violent behavior certainly doesn’t have to be something that you find yourself in if you make sure that you avoid the things that can cause it. Keep your eyes, ears and mind sharp and watch for those cues!

As more people search for ways to improve their quality of life, the interest in health and violence prevention is at an all time high. This has lead public health officials to implement a four step procedure that can be applied to help monitor health and violence prevention procedures. This process is applied to violent crimes and health issues faced by each community. The steps for health and violence prevention involves defining the problem, describing risks and protective elements, developing and testing prevention methods, and a guarantee of widespread acceptance.

The data used to define the results of violent deaths and injuries is a precise combination of vital records, police reports, coroner reports, and medical examiners. Identifying risks can help community leaders understand what makes a person commit violence, and why certain people are subjected to violent acts. Protective factors outline the characteristics that can decrease the potential to victimize, and what keeps you from becoming a victim. When the data has been compiled the findings are used to develop and test new strategies for health and violence prevention. Once the new prevention platforms have proved to be effective they are given widespread promotion with an evaluation of the process, training, technical assistance, and networking.

Each state applies the four step procedure to monitor violent behavior in their area. When information regarding violent deaths are submitted to the National Violent Death Reporting System, or NVDRS, the state is provided with an accurate account of injuries and deaths that were caused by violence. This data supplies vital information that state officials use to develop new programs for health and violence prevention. These widespread programs offer toll free hot lines, violence prevention centers for teens, and resource information to help recognize and prevent youth suicide and teen violence. Health and violence prevention is a vital issue that concerns the entire population.

According to the Georgia Department of Community Health, the main cause of injuries for females between the ages of fifteen and forty four are sexual assault and domestic violence. Thirty percent of women in this age group are victims of domestic violence. These violent crimes against women are very often committed by someone who knows the victim. Reports from the Center for Disease Control list over eighteen thousand homicide victims, and there were more than thirty three thousand suicides in America in 2006. Violent crimes also account for a large number of permanent physical disabilities and emotional trauma.

A key component for health and violence prevention is public education and awareness. Local community centers and online forums offer a wide variety of featured programs with resource information for health and violence prevention. Primary topics for violence prevention include elder and child maltreatment, school and youth violence, intimate partner or sexual violence, suicide, and global violence. Understanding the negative effects that violent crimes have on our communities and tips for personal safety are other essential topics for health and violence prevention. Violence within the community ultimately leads to damaged homes and decreased property values, as well as low productivity, and reduced or terminated social services.

The aftermath of violent crimes can leave a family devastated for long periods of time. It is not uncommon for the emotional distress over a murdered love one to last for years. Survivors of violent crimes are generally disabled, disfigured, or both. Victims of violent attacks are left with permanent damage, family members often feel helpless and must cope with emotional scars. A violent crime destroys the life of a family, erodes our communities with fear, and has a negative impact on society as a whole. Using the resources provided by health and violence prevention centers can help surviors of violent crimes live a productive life.

Society is progressively becoming increasingly violent. A good portion is due to the amount of violence that people, especially children, are being exposed to in movies, television and video games.

Children in the U.S. watch an average of 3-4 hours of TV daily. The media has a powerful influence on shaping not only a child’s behavior, but also their value systems. So, it’s very important to pay attention to what your child watches and how it affects them. Moral issues in the media have been on a steady decline over the last century and society is experiencing the negative results. Just ask anyone over 60 what those differences are. Likely they would say it’s night and day compared to what they watched as children. Unfortunately, there’s so much violent programming and children are being exposed to it excessively at younger and younger ages.

Studies have been performed about the effects of TV violence on children and they’ve found that certain things happen when exposed to violence. Watching violence causes people to be more aggressive and become desensitized to the horror of violence. They begin to gradually accept violence as a way of solving problems. Also, they start to imitate the violence they see. While violence in the media isn’t the only cause of violent or aggressive behavior, it’s definitely a considerable factor. Many inmates note that the media they were exposed to influenced their thoughts and actions and led them down a path of crime.

People take children (even as young as 4) to watch PG-13 and R rated movies. It’s hard to understand why they feel it okay for young minds to witness what is in those shows. The rating system exists for a reason and even then you should be extremely cautious of what a child sees. If they’re watching violent movies as children, imagine what they will be watching as teens and adults; it will just intensify. Sites such as Kids In Mind give parents a look at what content movies have in them before they go and can be a great tool in protecting your child.

It’s back-to-school time, and that has parents thinking about a lot of things: buying clothes and supplies, fixing lunches, attending school events, and helping with homework. But there’s one thing that’s involved with children going back to school that most parents probably don’t think about: keeping our kids safe while they’re in school.

It’s no secret that violence has broken out over several schools in the United States over the last decade. Students are reacting to negative attention with more and more violent behavior, and the threats aren’t necessarily stopping. There are steps that parents, teachers, and administrators must take to prevent a tragedy from happening this school year.

The community, teachers, parents, administrators, and students must all come together to help prevent violence from occurring in our schools. One way to help prevent it is to increase security in schools. In a survey taken during the 1996-97 school year by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 84 percent of schools had a low security system in place, 11 percent had moderate security, only 2 percent had stringent security, and 3 percent had no security measures at all. One way we can help protect our children from violence at school is to increase these security systems throughout all the schools in the country.

Some ideas for increasing security in our schools include issuing name badges which must be worn by all students, faculty, and school employees at all times, and instituting violence prevention programs and zero tolerance policies in all schools. Parents can do their part by paying attention to warning signs their child might be showing that could indicate a violent situation could arise, including a sudden lack of interest in things, obsession with violent games, depression and mood swings, writing that shows despair and isolation, a lack of anger management skills, talking about death or bringing weapons to school, and showing violence towards animals. If your child is showing these signs, you’ll want to seek professional help for them. Your school’s guidance counselor is a good place to start when seeking help for your child.

Your child has just started high school, and you are overwhelmed with emotion. It’s hard to believe that your baby is actually in high school, and growing up faster than the speed of light. You’ve probably had several talks with her about your own high school experiences, which has led you to start contemplating about what it will be like when she starts to date. The last thing that will probably enter your mind when thinking about this is violence.

You’d like to think that your child’s dating experience will be as exciting and innocent as yours was. But in this day and age, it may not always be innocent. Violence can show up in unexpected places, including your child’s dating life. There are some things you’ll need to talk with your daughter about before she starts dating so she understands that teen dating abuse can occur, and she should not tolerate it. If she finds herself in a violent relationship, she needs to remove herself from it immediately.

The facts about teen dating abuse are shocking. One in five teens that have been in a serious relationship has reported being hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner. One in three teens has reported that they know a friend who has experienced dating abuse. And one in four teen girls who have been in a relationship has reported that they’ve been pressured to perform sexual activities with their partner.

Of course, dating abuse isn’t always physical. It can be emotional or verbal too. Controlling behavior may also be a factor. With today’s social networks and texting options on cell phones, it’s easier for predators, including your daughter’s boyfriend, to use these tactics to keep her under his control. This kind of behavior is a warning sign that violence can occur too.

As a parent, there are steps you can take to protect your daughter from dating abuse. Talk to your daughter about it so she’s aware that she doesn’t have to be a victim, and can come to you for help. Let her know up front what is not acceptable.

Violence is a problem wherever it may be found. Occasionally people may decide it is the only way to solve another problem – war springs to mind – but for the most part, society eschews violence, at least in reality. It’s hard to remember this, as entertainment and the media are saturated with violence, but nevertheless, it’s better to solve disagreements with words instead of fists.

Not everyone understands this, which is why there is a police force and why one must watch out – why the world is not always, despite people’s strongest wishes, a safe place. Sometimes people who would not normally be violent are led to violence through other circumstances. Drugs are a prime offender. People may be good and nonviolent, but in desperate times they turn to drugs for some comfort, and then, in the altered state imposed by the drugs, they lash out. Typically, if people on drugs are not hurting others they are hurting themselves.

Alcoholism is an example of a devastating disease, springing from a legal drug, that can tear people apart, which is why it is important to make an alcohol treatment center available to anyone who might need it.

Some people are naturally violent, without drug-induced help, and the reasons are not always clear. Sometimes it is an effect of a physical condition – diseases can alter people’s personalities as completely as any chemical, and rehabilitation isn’t enough in such cases; stronger treatment is required. Of course, this can raise challenging philosophical questions about the nature of identity and if who people are is determined solely by physical conditions.

People have different tempers, too. There’s a stereotype that red hair means a fiery temper, and while that is an unfair generalization, it does make one wonder what is responsible for people’s different attitudes toward violence.

Only through understanding can violence be avoided.