Essential behaviors in Curing violence

We will talk about the basic behaviors that people who drive change, treat violence or mitigate violent behaviors and change behaviors and attitudes in society, must have.

These behaviors that violence therapists have are no less important than planning for the process, as sometimes we exhibit behaviors that may hinder the change process or have a negative effect.

These are the basic behaviors of violence therapists:

Activists focus on the self-injurious behavior and not on the perpetrator of the behavior.

The perpetrator of violence is not a bad person, s/he are not treated as such. This person is still a human being even after committing an act of negative behavior. So, we must separate the harmful or bad behavior from the person’s public and private life.

Activists depart from judgments about a person’s nationality, religion, or political affiliation.

These judgments turn into a fundamental dilemma in bringing about change in society, and they are based on ethical dimensions related to the life of the person herself/himself.

It is not important for a person’s life or work, but rather the harmful behaviors issued by her/him that negatively affect or harm individuals or the society in which we live.

Example: When dealing with a member of the army or police, it is not reasonable to ask her/him to give up her/his weapon or stop fighting! This is her/his work and duty, but we focus on the harmful behavior that s/he may commit.

If s/he is shooting randomly in the area, then this specific behavior is what we need to focus on.

Activists are patient and are always ready to change strategies and deal with setbacks, even if they have been working on these strategies for a long time.

In reference to the brain physiology video, when the short path is highly effective for those affected by violence, it is difficult to easily activate the long path; This does not mean that they are not convinced of what the activistsare doing, but because they are trapped within the framework in which they live. The Activistsmust be prepared to accept setbacks with open arms.

Activists do not play a guardianship role for people affected by violence, as the process of change is not in the manner of a teacher or a student.

Activistsare keen that those affected are independent and believe that they have a role in the process of change and that they carry it out on their own, which is a basic principle in treatments in general, and even in treatments of mental illnesses, and it is more important than the drug itself, and no less significant than the role of the doctor her/himself.

Activists determine their language in which they address people to be consistent with the nature of the behavior in front of them

Therefore, activistsdeal with the elements of emotional pressure and stereotypes. The pressure may be emotional from people affected by violence. The repetition of pressure may affect the physiology of the brain and make their responses emotional, stereotyped, or improvisational.

Activistsneed the greatest amount of analysis and reflection within society to avoid being influenced by violence themselves. Hence, they take a break once in a while from those affected by violence, and from their work in violence boycott.

Thus, they are freed from the emotional pressure and get out of stereotypes; and this allows them to analyze and deconstruct self-formed stereotypes, for these actions break stereotypes.