‘Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain' — Mahatma Gandhi Violence, in general, is one of the phenomena that most concerns government agencies as well as the international community. In Western countries, the phenomenon has not only increased in quantity, but it has also diversified in means, to which testify the attacks by students against fellow students or teachers. Violence is commonly defined as all forms of behaviour that inflict harm on others. The harm can be physical or psychological. Satire and ridicule, aggressive language, curses and profanities directed at others are also considered part of the phenomenon. Attention to violence, as a social phenomenon, increased in tandem with the evolution, in the 20th century, of public awareness on childhood and, specifically, with the development of psychological theories that traced human behaviour to influences on the child since infancy and that, therefore, counselled the need for parents and caretakers to ensure an environment conducive to children's healthy and complete physical and psychological growth. The growing awareness and concern was manifested in the proliferation of organisations and movements that advocated and defended human rights and the rights of the child in particular. It found international expression in UN conventions on human rights and the rights of the child. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child explicitly underscores the need to protect children from all forms of abuse, exploitation and violence (Article 32). Such human rights instruments mark the beginning of the concern for the child as a discrete individual endowed with rights of his own, as opposed to merely being a subordinate component or property of others, such as the family. Violence is an extreme and highly emotional manifestation of aggressive tendencies. Scientific studies, as well as the diverse media in Egypt, the region and abroad confirm that the phenomenon is growing more acute by the day and that it has begun to pose a danger to security, stability and growth at the level of the individual, the family and society at large. Therefore, it is our duty to meet this challenge face on. We must study it thoroughly in order to better understand its specific causes in every environment or community, for it is important to bear in mind that while its manifestations may be similar, the motives that drive it are as diverse as the environments in which it exists. After all, proper diagnosis is the key to the effective cure. Violence can have its origins in the family through the ways parents raise their children. When parents vent their frustrations through violent behaviour against one another or their children, the children, in turn, acquire such behaviour and then consciously or unconsciously transfer it to the school or the street. Or, if they do not exhibit it openly, they may repress violent tendencies for a while. Domestic violence in Egypt is on the rise. Egyptian families are under enormous economic strains, exacerbated by the rise of consumerist ambitions under the influence of the influx of foreign products, television commercials and that illusory drive to keep up with the Joneses. Were it not for the fact that the Egyptian cultural legacy accords such a high value to the sanctity of the family, which works to preserve the unity of the family in spite of tensions or conflicts within it, many families would disintegrate. Research points to a growing prevalence of frustration, discontent and suppressed aggression in the Egyptian family. The true spirit of love and joy in the family has virtually vanished under the near-perpetual influence of the pressures and temptations of money. The influence of economic pressures is illustrated by the following case in a recent study. The protagonist is ironically called “Suad”, meaning “happiness”, as though to symbolise that lost quality. Suad is a well-mannered daughter of a family of modest means. She works as a secretary for a company and grew fond of a colleague of hers. The feelings were reciprocated, but as the two did not have enough money to marry, they felt they had to wait until their material circumstances improved. Nevertheless her colleague sought permission from her father so that they could get engaged and to her great delight the father approved and the engagement took place, even though the engagement gift consisted of only two modest rings. Then the future couple began to look for an apartment. They scoured the city for weeks on end but could not find anything affordable. Suad grew increasingly gloomy and frustrated and her fiancé became less and less able to pick up her spirits and feed her optimism that their situation would eventually improve. Eventually, she had the feeling that she had reached a dead end, she called off the engagement and married a man who was considerably older, but well-to-do. Instances such as the foregoing testify to the extent to which the pressures of economic difficulties impede aspirations and, indeed, the realisation of one of the individual's rights in life: to marry. There is a common thread in all the cases in the recent study: an initial drive and enthusiasm that is put to the test of gruelling experience and ends in frustration and failure. It was as though the respondents, both male and female, related varying versions of the same story featuring the same protagonists: the boy, the girl, the father and money! Today, perhaps the only examples of what we term traditional marriage remain in Upper Egypt and the countryside. This form of marriage, in which the groom never sees his future wife before the wedding, probably had better chances of success than many marriages today. It was free of the forces of money and love, the latter of which determines the choice if the individual chooses his/her spouse. In traditional marriages, the feelings of the future spouses were more or less neutral, which may have facilitated the development of love and contentment after marriage. This article is particularly concerned with violence against women and children. Where violence extends to women and children, society becomes a jungle. Where violence becomes the alternative to reason, persuasion and dialogue, it poses a grave threat to the human intellect. Violence towards women and children is ultimately a threat to the human conscience and the spirit of humanity, which is why its study is so important. Not only do women and children make up the majority of mankind, they are the sectors of the population that most demand society's care and attention. As the Prophet Mohamed instructs us, we must be as kind in our treatment of women and children as we are gentle in handling delicate ceramics. THE CONCEPT AND CAUSES OF VIOLENCE: Etymologically, the English word for violence derives from the Latin words “vis” (force) and the past participle of “fero” (carry, bear) and which, taken together, means “to carry or bear force against” a person or thing. The Webster Dictionary lists as one of its definitions of violence: the exercise of physical force with the intention of inflicting harm on others. For the purposes of this article, violence is the deliberate infliction of harm on women or children. The harm can be material through the exercise of physical force, such as beating, or it could be psychological through the use of abusive or offensive language. There are several approaches to analysing violence: - According to the perpetrator: men are not always the perpetrators. Women may also be guilty of violence against other women or children. - According to the nature of the violence: be it physical or moral, and according to its intensity or gravity, which is to say, in terms of its consequences on the victim (wounds inflicted from beating can sometimes result in death). - In terms of how it is generalised: for example, certain women or groups of women may be singled out for violence and intimidation on the basis of ideological beliefs, biases or differences. - According to motive: motives can be diverse; pent up frustration due to repeated failure might explode into violence against women or children. Deprivation (whether economic or moral, as in the loss of love and affection) is a common source of violence as a means to compensate. The urge to prove one's masculinity or to dominate, a thirst for revenge and fear, are other possible motivating forces behind violence. Some perpetrators of violence may be driven by a destructive impulse that is simultaneously self-destructive. As noted above, the environment is crucial in shaping many of the aspects of our lives, in general, and it has a clear and indisputable role to play in the emergence of the problem of violence, in particular. There are a number of theories that might be useful in this regard: - The environmental pressure theory: this holds that various forms of environmental pressure, such as overcrowding, noise pollution or other concrete environmental problems can, when they reach intolerable levels, cause people to erupt into acts of violence. It follows that people who live in areas, such as slums or informal settlements, that are riddled with problems such as overcrowding, poor housing, lack of privacy, deprivation from public services and utilities, would be more prone to violence than residents of wealthier neighbourhoods. Naturally, the violence would be unleashed against the weaker members of the community — women and children above all. The environmental pressure theory can be broached from the perspective of the sociological environment. For example, the problems associated with low income, when unemployment is rife and inflation is more acutely felt than elsewhere, increase the probability of domestic strife and violence against women and children in particular. - The available resources theory: that the prevalence of conflict increases in proportion to the extent to which population growth outstrips available resources. In other words, the more intense the rivalry over limited resources, the more intense the conflict and the greater the chances this conflict translates into violence. When the problem of population growth is couched in terms of the conflict over available resources, we can see how this theory might apply to the Egyptian case. In Egypt, there are approximately six million acres of agricultural land in a territory in which the population has doubled several times in the course of the past century. The affect of this is tangibly reflected in the decline in per capita income that, in turn, has contributed to the rise in violence in general and violence against women and children — the weaker components of society — in particular. - The environment deprivation theory: that the environment that fails to satisfy the needs of the individuals that inhabit it will generate feelings of depredation that can propel people towards violence. In Egypt, there are many areas and regions that suffer environmental deprivation relative to others. Upper Egypt, for example, is worse off than the Delta in terms of provision of public services and utilities and levels of investment, as a result of which violence is more prevalent in the south than in the north. It is important to note that the government has begun to promote investment and the development in public services in Upper Egypt in recent years. - Frustration theory: an environment that is not conducive to the individual's sense of self-fulfilment and successfulness generates mounting frustration that can erupt in violence. This certainly seems to apply to the case of Egyptian youth for whom the environment is not one conducive to finding a good job, a respectable income, appropriate housing and, hence, building a happy family. It is not surprising, therefore, that after meeting with one frustration after another, many youths are driven to violence, which tends to be unleashed against the weaker members of society, namely women and children. - Marginalisation theory: that marginalised environments breed violence. These are the environments, often found on the outskirts of towns or cities, which suffer neglect by the state and therefore lack fundamental services and utilities. The feelings of neglect and helplessness that this generates can breed a degree of vengefulness that expresses itself in violence. This theory also applies to what we might term socially marginalised professions, professions frowned upon by society, such as garbage collectors and street sweepers who are equally prone to developing such feelings of resentment and are, therefore, more violent, than others. - The acquisition through learning theory: that violence as a mode of behaviour is acquired through watching it practiced in the surrounding environment. This does not just apply to the concrete environment. It also applies to television, for exposure to violence in films or TV series also contributes to the rise in the phenomenon. There are also several biological theories that may help explain the phenomenon of violence. One holds that violence is borne of the human biological fighting instinct and that this instinct is more pronounced in some than in others. A second theory ascribes the tendency to violence to a hormonal imbalance connected with low levels of cholesterol. A third theory has emerged with growing knowledge of how the human brain is structured. Scientists have learned that certain sections or areas of the brain govern certain senses, skills or faculties. It is believed that the centre that governs violence and destructiveness is located above the ear and that the surface area or activity of this centre varies from one person to the next and, hence, so too does the propensity towards violence. VIOLENCE REDUCTION: There are several basic focal areas in the fight to reduce violence and violence against women and children in particular. As they complement one another, they must be pursued simultaneously. - The personality development of the child. This focal area has a long-term aim, which is to shape the type of adult and, specifically, adult male that will seek to protect women and children. The process begins with proper education and upbringing, whether in the family, the school or the media environment. All these institutions must work to disseminate the awareness of the religious strictures that ordain proper and respectful treatment of women and children. It is important to inculcate in the child the sense of consideration and care for others. This, in conjunction with the promotion of the values of patience, tolerance and mutual support in the family and in society, will work to minimise the tendency towards violence. - The environment. The focus here is to develop an environment conducive to healthy social growth by reducing the environmental pressures conducive to the sense of deprivation and frustration. This challenge begins with the elimination of various forms of pollution (air, noise and water) and extends through urban expansion into satellite cities and out of the Nile Valley in order to reduce overcrowding and the competition over scarce resources. It simultaneously entails addressing the problems of informal settlements, marginalised communities and areas throughout the country that have been deprived of essential services and investment. - Sustained development. This core focal area seeks to satisfy the needs of today's generations without prejudicing those of future generations. Sustained development is a holistic project that embraces comprehensive social, economic, cultural and environmental development with the ultimate aim of furnishing the conditions for a better life and a brighter future for all Egyptians that, in turn, will reduce violence and violence towards women and children in particular. CONCLUSION: Violence, in its fullest sense that comprises the use of physical force as well as abusive and coercive language, is a form of human behaviour that is the product of a variety of causes and factors. Some are genetically transmitted whereas others are acquired through exposure in the surrounding environment. Of the former are behavioural traits that are caused by hormonal secretions. For example, an overactive thyroid gland produces markedly aggressive behaviour while a sluggish pituitary gland produces lethargy and, if there is an aggressive tendency, it will be of the cold and passive variety. Acquisition through the environment comprises the effects of everything a child experiences from birth (and even before birth) to adulthood. As the child grows from infancy to adulthood, that circle of experience will expand from the immediate family (and his experiences of parental violence, anger, neglect and, perhaps worst of all, emotional deprivation) to the school and the larger society (with all its attendant cultural and social components, systems, customs, traditions, values and language). Exposure to and interaction with pernicious aspects of all these factors will affect the psychological makeup of the child in ways that could make him aggressive towards himself and those around him. It should be noted that aggressive or violent behaviour among children is generally acquired or learned from the family and school environments. School years are the most crucial formative years for a child. When beginning school, a child sets his eyes on a brighter future and works to develop his knowledge and his academic skills until he reaches adolescence. I believe that a child who experiences violence, whether physical or verbal, from his teachers and/or schoolmates, as well as in the home or in his immediate community, will be 10 times more likely to behave aggressively and violently toward others when he grows up. The experiences of a child forge the rules that inform his behaviour in the future. It is therefore essential to take them seriously, while bearing in mind that fate, too, has a role to play in shaping the personality of a child or, as is written in the Quran (The Sun, 91:8): “[By the soul] and that which forged it and inspired it with awareness of its vices and virtues.” The writer is a legal expert and political analyst.
