15 TYPES of VIOLENCE and their characteristics

Violence is one of the main causes of death among the population. Every year, millions of people lose their lives violently and many others are injured and suffer a great diversity of mental, physical, sexual problems... With data from the 2010 report by the WHO (World Health Organization), some 5.8 million people die every year as a result of injuries, which means 10% of all registered deaths in the world. But what exactly is violence? Are there different types of violence? What are the types of violence?

In this Psychology-Online article we will address the concept of violence to better understand it. To achieve this, we will present the definition of the different types of violenceand their characteristics.

Index

1. what is violence
2. What are the types of violence
3. physical violence
4. Psychological and emotional violence
5. sexual violence
6. Economic or patrimonial violence
7. violence against women
8. Violence against children
9. Violence against the elderly
10. gender violence
11. Violence due to sexual orientation
12. Violence against people with disabilities
13. Domestic or intra-family violence
14. Violence in communities, on the streets and public spaces
15. violence at school
16. violence at work
17. Violence through the media and cyberspace

The wide variety of ethical codes in the different countries of the world means that the concept of violence does not have a clear definition. The idea of ​​what is or is not accepted behavior or violent behavior, as well as the idea of what causes harm, varies according to different cultures and remains under constant review. Therefore, it must be remembered that there are many different definitions of violence depending on who does it and in the context in which it is done.

Referring to official data, the WHO currently defines violence as "the intentional use of physical force, threats against oneself, another person, a group or a community that results or is very likely to result in trauma, psychological damages, developmental problems or death."

On the one hand, the definition excludes unintentional acts such as traffic or domestic accidents (for example, burns) and includes both violence interpersonal such as suicidal behavior and armed conflicts as well as acts beyond the physical: threats and intimidation and harm that does not necessarily result in death. Also included in this definition are those acts that compromise well-beingof individuals, families and communities.

How many types of violence are there? The violence can be classified according to multiple criteria. The WHO divides the types of violence according to whether it is interpersonal, that is, acts committed by an individual or group of individuals, suicide and self-inflicted violence and, finally, collective violence (members of a group against another group or group of subjects).

Another classification model would be the one carried out by José Sanmartín, who makes a taxonomy according to the type of action, damage caused, setting or context in which it occurs, type of aggressor and the type of victim. Below we show you the classification of the 15 types of violence:

Violence according to the type of damage caused

• physical violence.
• Psychological and emotional violence.
• sexual violence.
• Economic or patrimonial violence.

Violence according to the type of victim

• Violence against women.
• Violence against children.
• Violence against the elderly.
• Gender violence.
• Violence due to sexual orientation.
• Violence against people with disabilities.

Violence according to the environment where it occurs

• Domestic or intrafamily violence.
• Violence in communities, in the streets and public spaces.
• Violence at school.
• Violence at work.
• Violence through the media and cyberspace.

The first of the types of violence that exist is physical violence. According to the Law Against Domestic Violence, this type of violence consists of all those "actions, behaviors or omissions that threaten or injure the physical integrity of a person."

Following the same Law, any direct or indirect action or omission whose purpose iscontrol or degrade the actions, behaviors, beliefs and decisions of other people through intimidation, manipulation, direct or indirect threat, humiliation, isolation or any conduct or omission that harms psychological health, self-determination, comprehensive development and possibilities personal.

Among the different types of violence we find sexual violence. What is sexual violence and what situations does it include? According to the WHO, sexual violence includes any sexual act, attempt to consummate a sexual act, comments or unwanted sexual advances, as well as actions to commercialize or use in any other way the sexuality of a person through coercion by another person, regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including at home and in the workplace job.

In this article you will find more information about What is sexual violence and how to prevent it?

This type of violence is defined according to various areas:

• in the family environment: includes any action or omission of whoever affects or prevents adequate attention to the needs of the family or any of the persons referred to in this law; damages, loses, steals, destroys, retains, distracts or appropriates objects, instruments or goods.
• In itNational scope: includes attacks by larger groups motivated by the desire for financial gain, such as those carried out with for the purpose of disrupting economic activities, denying access to essential services, or creating economic division and fragmentation.
• On violence against women: according to the LEIV, the actions, omissions or conducts that affect the free disposal of the patrimony of the woman, including the damages to common or own assets through the transformation, subtraction, destruction, distraction, damage, loss, limitation, retention of objects, personal documents, goods, values ​​and rights patrimonial

Another type of violence is that which occurs against women. How do you describe this type of violence? According to the UN, “any act of violence based on belonging to the female sex that does or may result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to the woman, as well as threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether they occur in public life or in private life private”.

Among the different types of violence that exist, one of the most worrisome is violence against children. According to the Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, girls, boys and adolescents have the right to have their personal integrity respected, which includes the integrity physical, psychological, cultural, moral, emotional and sexual.

Consequently, they may not submit to any form of violence, such as abuse, exploitation, ill-treatment, torture, punishment or inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment.

Another type of violence present in today's society is that directed at the elderly, who along with young children are one of the most vulnerable groups.

According to the WHO, carrying out a single or repeated act or failing to take certain necessary measures, in the context of any relationship in which there are expectations of trust, and which cause harm or distress to an older person.

According to the Spanish Law on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender Violence approved in 2004, it defines this type of violence as that which is exercised as a manifestation of discrimination, the situation of inequality and relations of power of men over women by their partners or ex-partners or by those who are or have been linked to them by similar relationships of affectivity, even in cases in which there was no coexistence.

If you want to know more about it, in this article you will find more information about the types of gender violence, definition and its characteristics.

According to Médicos del Mundo, this type of violence can have different expressions, from discrimination for exercise of your rights such as denial of employment or educational opportunities, harassment, interference with your privacy, sexual assaults, even torture, ill-treatment and hate killings.

All these signs of violence are frequently aggravated by the experience of other attacks or manifestations of hate, discrimination and exclusionsuch as those based on race, age, religion, disability, or economic or social status, among other examples.

Violence against people with disabilities is all thatdistinction, exclusion or restriction based on a disability, history of disability, consequence of previous disability or perception of a present or past disability, which has the effect or purpose to prevent or annul the recognition, exercise or enjoyment of persons with disabilities, as well as their human rights and freedoms fundamental.

Another type of violence is what happens at home or among family members. Any act or omission, direct or indirect, that causes damage, physical, sexual, psychological suffering or death to members of a family and the forms in which it manifests itself can be psychological, physical, sexual and patrimonial.

In the following articles we talk in depth about the domestic violence and domestic violence.

This type of violence includes street crimes, assaults, road violence, gangs, homicide, rape... that is, it includes all those crimes that occur on public roads.

Violence at school is another type of violence that, unfortunately, we can find on many occasions today. Within this kind of violence we can differentiate two types:

• violence that occursinside the school: as various forms of abuse and discrimination among schoolchildren.
• Violence that occurs from school towards young people: such as that produced by the imposition of discipline models that violate human rights.

Among the types of violence that exist, we find the violence in the workplace. Violence at work or workplace harassment can be defined as any FOrm of systematic and repeated aggression (that is, habitual psychological abuse) of one or several people against another person (or several) at work.

This type of violence is manifested by a sequence of hostile, degrading or intimidating actions, with the aim of breaking their communication networks in the middle and isolate the person from their environment to reinforce her position of dominance, legal and social, without thinking about the possible consequences for her physical or mental health. On some occasions, this type of violence can also be seen as violence against women.

In the following article you will find information about the types of workplace harassment or mobbing.

Closely linked to symbolic violence. Within this type of violence enters from the diffusion of images that incite violence such as the cyberspace practices known as sexting (dissemination or publication of sexual content produced by the sender), grooming(adults who gain the trust of children for the purpose of sexual satisfaction) cyberbullying (harassment of a minor towards another minor through insults etc... using technology) and sextortion (blackmail through sexual content, whether they are videos or images of the victim).

In the following article you will find more information about What is cyberbullying: causes and consequences.

This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of violence and their characteristics, we recommend that you enter our category of legal psychology.

• Iborra, I. & Sanmartin, J. (2011). How to classify violence? Taxonomy according to Sanmartín. Criminology and Justice (1), pp. 22-31.
• World Health Organization (2020).World Health Organization.
• World Health Organization (2003). World Report on Violence and Health.
• Rivera, A.M. (2017). Module II. Typology of violence.