Sydney Chisenga
31 October 2002
KUKU Sibeso was in her late 90s when she was brutally killed by her grands who had suspected her of causing the death of his 12-year-old daughter through witchcraft in western Zambia.
In North-Western Zambia's Kasempa district, a coffin (believe it or not) carried by six pall bearers magically U-turned and forced them to standstill in front of an old male villager who was accompanying the mourners to the burial site. This brought the mourners to a standstill and on instinct they picked up stones and pelted the 70-year-old man to death accusing him of having killed the deceased through black magic.
In another incident, a 22-year-old youth in Lusaka took his life by drinking a poisonous substance after he was diagonised with HIV/AIDS.
Six-year-old Mulisani was recently defiled by her father who was given a traditional prescription to improve his business which involved sleeping with his youngest daughter.
The above may sound fictitious but are true stories of what happens in Zambia today. They give us a few of the millions of cases of the different types of violence society and the world face today.
A lot of articles have been written on violence, particularly against women and children who have lost their lives, with perpetrators being served with minimal and lighter sentences.
Research has been undertaken on the prevalence of different forms of violence, especially domestic violence and into the causes, the nature and consequences of violence. But nothing tangible has been achieved to date to stop the trend.
The World Global Report on violence and health is a first comprehensive report of its kind to address violence as a global public health problem. It says violence kills more than 1.6 million people every year.
Public health experts say these statistics are just a tip of the iceberg with the majority of violent acts committed behind closed doors but painfully swept under the carpet.
The report aims to shed more light on these acts. In addition to the deaths, millions of people are left injured because of violence and suffer from physical, sexual, reproductive and mental health problems, says the first comprehensive world report on violence and health released recently by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The death and disability caused by violence make it one of the leading public health issues of modern times.
Violence is among the leading causes of death for people aged between 15 to 44 years of age, accounting for 14 per cent of deaths among males and seven per cent of deaths among females.
On average day, 1,424 people are killed in acts of homicide around the world, almost one person every minute. Roughly one person commits suicide every 40 seconds. About 35 people are killed every hour as a result of armed conflict.
In the 20th century, an estimated 191 million people lost their lives directly or indirectly as a result of conflict, and well over half of them were civilians. Studies have shown that in some countries, health care expenditure due to violence account for up to five per cent of the Gross Domestic product (GDP).
The report challenges people in many respects. It forces people to reach beyond notions of what is acceptable and comfortable to challenge notions that acts of violence are simply of family privacy, individual choice or inevitable facets.
Violence is a complex problem related to patterns of thought and behaviour that are shaped by a multitude of forces within families and communities, that can also transcend national borders.
The world report on violence and health is the first comprehensive review of the problem of violence and the methods at a global level.
It focuses not only on the sale of the problem, but also covers issues related to the cause of violence and the methods for preventing violence and reducing its adverse health and social consequences.
In addition to the familiar issues of violence such as war or conflict, the report examines equally significant yet frequently overlooked issues such a youth violence, child abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and self inflicted violence or suicides.
The data on youth violence show that youth homicide rates have increased in many parts of the world. For every young person killed by violence, an estimated 20 to 40 receive injuries that require treatment.
Research shows that fighting and bullying are common among young people and that drunkenness is one of the situational factors found to precipitate violence.
As far as child abuse is concerned, data from selected countries suggest that about 20 per cent of women and five to 10 per cent of men suffered from sexual abuse as children.
Women, on the other hand, often face the greatest risk at home and in familiar settings, says the report.
Almost half the women who die due to homicide are killed by their current or former spouses or boyfriends, while in some countries it can be as high as 70 per cent.
While exact numbers are hard to come by due to lack of reporting, available data suggests that nearly one in four women will experience sexual violence. In some countries up to one third of adolescent girls report forced sexual initiation.
Abuse of the elderly is one of the most hidden faces of violence, according to the report, and one that is likely to grow given the rapidly aging populations in many countries.
Up to six per cent of the elderly report having been abused. As for suicide or self-inflicted violence, it is recognised as one of the leading causes of death in the world. Among those aged 15 to 44 years, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death and the sixth leading cause of disability and ill-health.
The statistics are chilling but the situation is far from hopeless, experts say. There is nothing inevitable about violence, nor is it intrinsic part of the human condition, said Dr Etienne Krug, director, Department of Injuries and Violence prevention.
He added that evidence from around the world suggests that violence can be prevented by a variety of measures aimed at individuals, families and communities.
As a compliment to the law and order approach to violence, the report promotes a public health understanding of the complex social, psychological, economic and community underpinnings of violence.
While recent research suggests that biological and other individual factors may explain some of the predisposition to aggression, these factors more often interact with family, community cultural and other factors to create a situation where violence is likely to occur.
Understanding these situations and these causes creates opportunities to intervene before violent acts occur, providing policy-makers with a variety of concrete options to prevent violence.
Among recommendations for prevention made by the report are primary prevention responses such as the pre-school and social development programmes for children and adolescents, parent training ,as wellas support programmes and measures to reduce firearm injuries and improve firearm safety.
Other recommendations include strengthening responses for victims of violence, promoting adherence to international treaties and laws, and improving data collection on violence.
This ground-breaking report therefore, demonstrates that violence is predictable and preventable. The report provides a public health prescription for preventing violence before it occurs.-ZANA Features
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