Page 33 - Social Norms Survey

violence, including domestic/intimate partner violence
• Proclamations that the issue of crime is “someone else’s” problem and that “the

government” alone should fix it.
• Culture of reprisal

• A view that there is no “justice,” which creates an enabling environment for reprisals
and vigilantism.

The Violence Prevention Alliance would add to this list the following pro-violent norms:

• Harsh corporal punishment as the way to prevent children going astray, especially
in relation to teenage pregnancy for girls and joining gangs for boys.

• Polyvictimization and Trauma.
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VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN
Using the UN assessment, violence disproportionality affects children under the age of
12
18 years, whether they are direct victims of or witnesses to violence, in the home, school
or community and, increasingly, in the media. When abuse occurs between adults, many

may not realize the impact that witnessing this abuse has on children.

Research has increasingly indicated that as the young brain develops, significant changes
occur. Stress produces cortisol, which adversely affects brain function. Excessive exposure

to and/or experience of violence cause chronic stress, fear, and anxiety, which are toxic to
the brain and impair brain development. These impairments can contribute to emotional

and cognitive challenges, and the child is more prone to impulsive behaviour, fights and
violence. Consistent exposure to domestic violence at an early age can lead to learning

disabilities, behavioural issues, as well as physical and mental health problems.

According to the recently released findings of the 2016 Women’s Health Survey in Jamaica,
one in four women (25.2 per cent) has been physically abused by a male partner. Research

carried out in 2017 by the VPA in a study of women’s safety and security in 13 CSJP

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11 Polyvictimization refers to the experience of multiple victimizations of different kinds, such as sexual abuse, physical
abuse, bullying and exposure to family violence, not just multiple episodes of the same kind of victimization. - http://
polyvictimization.org/
12 United Nations A/61/299, Report of the independent expert for the United Nations study on violence against children
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/491/05/PDF/N0649105.pdf?OpenElement

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