Lesson 12: Community Mental Health Problems: Violence Across the Lifespan

Attention

The problem(s) of violence are so great that you have two lessons to explore this problem but this time it is across the lifespan.

Violence knows no boundaries for age, gender, culture.

There is virtually no period in human history that is free from recorded violence of one kind or another.

Peace must be a wondrous things. It would be the exact opposite of violence. I have often thought: Would we recognize peace if it broke out? What would be the frame of reference? It is often invoked in prayers for guidance and wisdom. This does not mean it doesn't exist. The efforts on the part of all community members to prevent violence and reduce the incidences of violence may be the solution.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

• Identify and discuss the complications caused by physical abuse during pregnancy.
  
• Describe the reasons and characteristics for gang membership.
  
• Discuss the role of mental health professionals, and community mental health in preventing violence across the lifespan.
  
• Define the role of best practices to address violence across the lifespan.

Teaching

The types and frequency of violence can be keyed to chronological age. Newborns, infants, toddlers, children in early childhhood, middle childhhood children, later childhood children, adolescents at various datelines, adults, whether early, middle, or late, ALL can be victims, and with some exception, the perpetrators CAN be children. It all depends on the social-emotional environment provided in a given time and place-culture.

The World Health Organization (WHO) works to improve the health of individuals around the globe. They have supported lots of research on violence. The following information lists are from their website.

Child Abuse Fact Sheet:

• A quarter of all adults report having been physically abused as children.
• One in 5 women and 1 in 13 men report having been sexually abused as a child.
• Consequences of child maltreatment include impaired lifelong physical and mental health, and the social and occupational outcomes can ultimately slow a country's economic and social development.
• Preventing child maltreatment before it starts is possible and requires a multisectoral approach.
• Effective prevention programmes support parents and teach positive parenting skills.
• Ongoing care of children and families can reduce the risk of maltreatment reoccurring and can minimize its consequences.

Youth Violence Fact Sheet:

• Worldwide some 200 000 homicides occur among youth 10–29 years of age each year, which is 43% of the total number of homicides globally each year.
• Homicide is the fourth leading cause of death in people aged 10-29 years, and 83% of these homicides involve male victims.
• For each young person killed, many more sustain injuries requiring hospital treatment.
• In one study, from 3–24% of women report that their first sexual experience was forced.
• When it is not fatal, youth violence has a serious, often lifelong, impact on a person's physical, psychological and social functioning.
• Youth violence greatly increases the costs of health, welfare and criminal justice services; reduces productivity; and decreases the value of property.

Suicide Fact Sheet (violence towards ones self):

• Over 800 000 people die due to suicide every year.
• For every suicide there are many more people who attempt suicide every year. A prior suicide attempt is the single most important risk factor for suicide in the general population.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds.
  
• 75% of global suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries.
• Ingestion of pesticide, hanging and firearms are among the most common methods of suicide globally.

Violence against Women Fact Sheet:

• Violence against women - particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence - are major public health problems and violations of women's human rights.
• Recent global prevalence figures indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
• Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. Worldwide, almost one third (30%) of women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.
• Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.
• Violence can negatively affect women’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health, and may increase vulnerability to HIV.
• Factors associated with increased risk of perpetration of violence include low education, child maltreatment or exposure to violence in the family, harmful use of alcohol, attitudes accepting of violence and gender inequality.
• Factors associated with increased risk of experiencing intimate partner and sexual violence include low education, exposure to violence between parents, abuse during childhood, attitudes accepting violence and gender inequality.
• There is evidence from high-income settings that school-based programmes may be effective in preventing relationship violence (or dating violence) among young people.
• In low-income settings, primary prevention strategies, such as microfinance combined with gender equality training and community-based initiatives that address gender inequality and relationship skills, hold promise.
• Situations of conflict, post conflict and displacement may exacerbate existing violence, such as by intimate partners, and present additional forms of violence against women.

Elder abuse information:

• Around 1 in 10 older people experience abuse every month.
• Rates of abuse may be higher for older people living in institutions than in the community.
• Elder abuse can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences.
• Elder abuse is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.
• The global population of people aged 60 years and older will more than double, from 900 million in 2015 to about 2 billion in 2050.

Violence can be prevented:

Read World Health Organziation's Violence Prevention Flyer

Assessment

Lesson 12 Quiz

1. List three violence prevention strategies listed in the WHO Violence Prevention Flyer that would correspond well with your role as a mental health worker. Indicate how you would integrate each of those strategies into your mental health work. What would the interventions look like? Write three separate paragraphs, one for each prevention strategy selected.
2. Complete the Domestic Violence Inventory for Victims** by going to the following website: http://domesticviolenceinventory.com/?page_id=8 or downloading the iPad app as instructed below. Share your thoughts about the process of completeing the inventory (either online or via the app) and how you might apply it in your work with clients and families in the future. You can also comlete the inventory for offenders to see what those questions are like. (**Please be aware that if you have a history of domestice violence some of these questions might be triggering for you.)

Lesson 12 Discussion (For online class only)

What resources exist in your community to combat domestic violence? You never know when someone may approach you and asks for help, professionally or personally.