Breaking the Cycle: How Awareness Can Combat Gender Violence
Experts at a conference on gender violence prevention stressed recognizing violence as a learned behavior requiring a systemic approach. They highlighted self-reflection on interpersonal relationships to identify and challenge normalized patterns.
Violence does not emerge spontaneously. It is built, shaped, and perpetuated through learned behaviors and societal structures. Its manifestations have grown increasingly diverse, globalized, and technological, making it one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time. Confronting this pervasive issue requires a multidisciplinary approach, argued Miriam Camacho Valladares at a recent conference held at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Addressing the topic alongside Guadalupe Barrena Nájera, head of the Office of the Ombudsman for University Rights, Equality, and Attention to Gender Violence, Camacho Valladares highlighted a critical truth: wherever interpersonal relationships exist, the potential for violence also resides. The solution, she proposed, lies in each individual taking responsibility for examining their relationships—whether emotional, familial, professional, or social—and actively rejecting violence as “normal.”
Redefining Awareness
In her presentation, Camacho Valladares emphasized the importance of not just defining violence but fostering awareness about its manifestations. This includes identifying how individuals both exercise and experience violence, as well as how they react to it. “The key is understanding the ways we engage in or witness violence and recognizing its impact on others,” she said during the conference titled Gender Violence Prevention at UNAM: Challenges and Solutions.
Held as part of the activities for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25N), the conference provided a platform to distinguish between aggression and violence. Aggression, Camacho Valladares explained, is an innate, observable behavior tied to survival instincts such as defense or competition. Violence, on the other hand, is a deliberate act that leverages power dynamics to cause harm. Unlike aggression, violence is learned, imitated, and often calculated, with the intention to destabilize or devalue an individual or group.
This distinction underscores the insidious nature of violence: it is not merely an instinctual reaction but a socially ingrained behavior. Violence disrupts not only the immediate victim but also their emotional and social environment, creating ripples of insecurity that extend far beyond the initial act.
The Spectrum of Violence
Camacho Valladares categorized violence into various forms, including:
- Physical: Hitting, kicking, pushing.
- Emotional: Verbal abuse, demeaning gestures, harsh words.
- Social: Discrimination, ostracism.
- Economic: Financial control or exploitation.
- Academic and Professional: Mockery of performance, undeserved punishments.
- Sexual: Any non-consensual act or advance.
In each of these manifestations, silence—whether from victims, witnesses, or bystanders—can act as an enabler. “Remaining silent when one lives or observes violence is tantamount to complicity,” Camacho Valladares asserted.
Institutional Responses and Challenges
Guadalupe Barrena highlighted UNAM’s institutional commitment to addressing violence. The university has adopted a multi-pronged approach that integrates resources, collaboration, and coordinated efforts across its departments. These measures aim to provide victims with accessible tools for reporting and seeking redress.
“Trust in institutional mechanisms has grown,” Barrena noted, pointing to increased willingness within the community to report incidents. Yet, she acknowledged that the journey toward a violence-free environment remains long and complex.
Dámaso Morales RamĂrez, General Secretary of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, echoed this sentiment. “Although progress has been made, the task is still monumental,” he said. Education and awareness, he argued, are essential to achieving lasting change. Morales RamĂrez announced plans to enhance visibility, strengthen protocols, and provide additional resources to combat violence.
“We must strive to become a community where mutual respect prevails—a space free from violence where we can coexist and advance professionally,” he concluded.
The discussions at UNAM underscore a universal truth: addressing violence requires a cultural shift. This involves not only institutional support but also individual accountability. As Camacho Valladares pointed out, acknowledging and challenging the normalization of violence is a necessary first step.
The road ahead demands collective effort—one that spans education, policy, and personal responsibility. Only by recognizing violence as a public health issue and tackling it through a multidisciplinary lens can society hope to create a safer, more equitable future.
