No More Violence

Jessica Ailen BarretoApril 18, 2023Violence and Healing


If we talk about violence, we say it is the intentional use of our physical force to dominate someone or something. It can be caused by various reasons including cultural or social.

Let's start by talking about cultural reasons. From my perspective, I think that many people come from a traditional family culture. The woman is in charge of the housework, taking care of the children, preparing the different meals of the day, etc. Meanwhile, the man is the one who is in charge of working outside the home, he almost never takes care of household chores, sees little or nothing at all, and has everything served on the table. For many years we have followed this traditionalist pattern and it is still difficult for my community to understand that everyone should help at home. School is where we learn that we are all equal and have the same responsibilities. They teach us fairness and equality, which helps our coexistence and teamwork. We collaborate for the well-being of the family and we all have the same responsibilities

The social motive for violence could be that the individual needs to feel important, to be part of the community with which they interact, to feel that they have power and that what they say or do will be heard. When the opposite occurs, it generates a lot of frustration. Then violent behaviors are developed, which can be physical or psychological.

To be realistic, this has a lot to do with what we consume on television, in social networks, and in the music we listen to. Every day we see news of violence—it's like the media is focused only on violent news in every city in my country. I would like to see news where they emphasize solutions, and how justice works. For example, in terms of the problem of family violence, I would like to see if there are places where the victim can go to receive help. In social networks, we find different types of information that are not always real. In terms of the music we listen to, the content is aimed at women. Which entity is in charge of regulating or censoring this type of content?

Communities must be aware of what is happening and act quickly in case of a new issue of violence. Regardless of whether it is domestic, physical, verbal, or psychological violence, it will leave scars.

In my community, there are NGOs that help people who have suffered violence, giving talks, and doing whatever they can to raise awareness to try to prevent violence. But it is never enough.

Violence is something bad, we should never hit or mistreat anyone because if they did the same to us we would feel bad. If you suffer violence, do not hesitate to ask for help, because if you remain silent, several things can happen.

Anyone who suffers violence should ask for professional help and if not, family help so that they do not go through that situation again.

Jessica Ailen Barreto is an 11-year-old from Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay. Jessica loves writing about different themes, reading, studying, and making others happy.