So this week was all about violence and unintentional injury. Not a fun subject, but lets dive in. According to Donatelle, depending on who you are, where you live, your gender, and your mental state (just to name a few) you are more likely to encounter certain types of violence as apposed to others. However, gathering statistics about crime rates is difficult because often crimes go unreported.
One type of violent crime that we all know has been on the rise in the past decade is gun violence in schools. It seems like you can’t turn on the news lately without hearing about another school shooting. Similarly, violence around political protests has become more prevalent, especially on college campuses. Meanwhile, the less reported, but just as prevalent interpersonal violence is still a huge problem as well. “Interpersonal violence includes acts inflicted against one individual by another or a small group of others; homicide, hate crimes, domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and sexual victimization all fit into this category” (Donatelle).
Homicide is defined as murder or non-negligent manslaughter and it is higher in the U.S. than any other developed country. That’s kinda scary right? Our book states that many homicide deaths are related to guns, alcohol and drug abuse. Often violent crimes are deemed hate crimes. Hate crimes are basically one person deciding they don’t like another based on their own prejudice and ignorance (that wasn’t strictly in the book but I think it’s a fair statement). Among the bias motivated crimes, race seems to be the most prevalent, closely followed by religion and sexuality.
Domestic violence, against a family member, is maybe one of the saddest forms of violence in my mind, because it is perpetrated by someone who should be looking out for you. Apparently, homicide by a current of former partner is the leading cause of death for pregnant women. That’s a fact I was horrified to learn. Another type of family violence would be child abuse or neglect. Elder abuse is also a type of domestic abuse that is often not reported because the elders may be afraid or embarrassed to report.
Sexual assault and rape are crimes that can take place in a range of situations from family relationships, acquaintances, to complete strangers. Our book divides rape into two categories: aggravated and simple. I’d love to know who came up with that term to define rape. There’s obviously nothing simple about it. Additional forms of sexual violence would include stalking and sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can include touching or inappropriate and unwanted sexual behaviors.
Collective violence is more large scale than interpersonal violence in that it is perpetrated against a group of people as apposed to an individual. Two types of collective violence discussed in this chapter are gang violence and terrorism. After explaining the various types of violence, the rest of the chapter focuses on ways to minimize your risk of becoming a victim and what to do if you are victimized, as well as ways to prevent unintended injuries.
One area discussed was social media. This is an area where potential for stalking, bullying and identity theft is ripe. Posting personal on negative information about yourself or someone else is never a good idea. Some causes of unintended injury include: motor vehicles, bicycles, water sports, snow sports, skateboarding, excessive noise, poison, falls, fire, and workplace injuries. Yikes! Thats a lot of ways to get hurt.
Obviously many of the topics discussed are things that we may not have control over. None of us can live in a bubble. None the less, making safety conscious decisions and being aware of out surroundings can certainly minimize some of the risks. On college campuses, many changes have been made to increase security and safety. Things like reverse 911 systems, environmental changes (such a better lighting), health safety seminars, and increased law enforcement on campus are a few of the initiatives being implemented.
For my part, I feel like I live in a very safe environment. I have a few close friends and family that I know will always have my back. I’ve got two big dogs that always make me feel safe at home or out on walks, and I don’t engage in a lot of risky behaviors. That being said, I know that no one is immune to injury or crime.
As far as my health initiative for this week, I’d say I’ve been doing well. The eating has been pretty much on point. I’ve been doing more cooking at home which really helps. I’ve completely changed over from caffeinated coffee to decaf. The first couple days of doing this I noticed I had a none stop craving for soda. My subconscious trying to get some caffeine back in. Now it’s actually easy and I don’t really notice the difference, other than that I don’t get as much of the jitters and crashes as before. Yay for me. All in all its been a good week.
Lucy 2.0 My Healthy Journey 