Violence

From Biki

Contents 1 Bullying 2 Sexual assault 3 Sexual harassment 4 Homophobic vilification 5 Domestic abuse

Bullying

• Repeated oppression of a less powerful person by a more powerful person or group.
• Bullying may be physical (punching) or psychological (name-calling, isolation, gossip).
• One student in eight is continually victimized.
• The most commonly reported form of bullying is verbal abuse.
• Young females are more likely to inform someone that they are being bullied whereas males tend to conceal it if they are.
• Differences between genders exist with respect to frequency of bullying and the type of bullying.
• Some young people remain unaffected by a bullying experience, while others can be traumatized for the rest of their lives.

Sexual assault

• Males known to the victims commit most sexual assaults.
• Motive is to inflict harm and assert power over the victim.
• Many young people don’t tell for fear that they won’t be believed. Feelings of shame and guilt are initial responses to sexual assault.
• Sexual assault on young people has both short and long term effects on the victim. Short: pregnancy, contraction of an STI, loss of sexual interest and depression. Long: dysfunctional sexual relationships, self-harm behavior, lack of self-esteem and depression.
• People need to look out for signs of sexual assault.

Sexual harassment

• Defined as being any unwanted verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature.
• There are several types of sexual harassment: subtle, explicit and criminal.
• Young people should be aware that it is unacceptable and they have the right to report it.

Homophobic vilification

• A fear of intolerance of homosexuality and behavior that is perceived to be different from traditional gender roles.
• Fear and hatred of homosexuality that is expressed as verbal or physical abuse of homosexuals is termed homophobic vilification.
• Can be in the form of name calling (“faggot”, “poofter” or “dyke”)
• Or can be physical such as “gay bashing”.

Domestic abuse

• Abuse of power in which one partner in a relationship (usually male) uses violence or threats to control the other partner.
• Domestic abuse includes physical, sexual, psychological and social abuse.
• There is evidence of higher levels of violence against overseas-born and Aboriginal young women and these groups are further disadvantages by their isolation, indigenous values and the failure of health services to meet their needs.
• Young people are often “viewers” of domestic violence, being in a household where bashings and verbal abuse occur repeatedly.

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