| JuryFury.com
Now Every 15th of the Month ! Online School of Politics |
|||
| Areas of Interest THE USA American Foreign Policy US House and Senate US Presidents State & Local Politics Regional Politics Politics of China The British Commonwealth Indian Subcontinent Middle East The European Union Africa Latin America ASEAN NATO United Nations The Non-aligned Movement Eastern Europe New Nations of the 20th Century General Topics Constitutional Law Human Rights Nuclear Disarmament & Treaties International Warfare Environmental Law Peace Treaties Economic & Social Alliances International Organizations Journalism & Media Racism and Democracy Women in the Workplace Family Law Courts and Practices The Judicial System Higher Education Education and Government Health Care & Insurance Rights of the Disabled Copyright & Working Online Legal Representation Legal Insurance Pornography Domestic Violence Religion & Law Workers Rights Employers Rights Prison & Life after Social Organizations Welfare & Poverty Taxation and Democracy Third World Aid Programs Space Exploration Alternative Energy Petroleum Industry & Cars Nuclear Power Programs for the Arts Sports Education Policing the Internet Privacy and freedom Immigration Food and Regulation War on Drugs War on Pharmaceuticals Public Housing Pollution and Control Sexual Harrassment Discrimination Electoral Process Consumers Rights Investors Rights Abortion Death Penalty Social Security Gender & Sexuality Grassroots Organization ACLU World Watch Oxfam UNICEF United Negro Fund Ford Foundation (suggestions welcome at our chatsite) Law of the Economy Join I-Traderschool, our sister magazine, for debates and news. |
Self & Society
Abuse:
Judging The Victims by Candida L. Eittreim All over the world someone is abused. People are raped, beaten by loved ones, abused by family or violated in so many different ways. One common characteristic is found in almost all these instances: shame. The shame of allowing oneself to be victimized is deep in all of these individuals. The more prolonged the abuse, the heavier the burden of shame and guilt becomes. This shame erodes an already shattered self esteem even further, increasing the victims sense of fear and isolation. We tend to be a silent folk, unwilling to open up and let others see the desperation, the crippling fear and the scalding hurt. Observing the treatment other victims receive from the courts and the public, only reinforces the need for silence. For victims are too easily judged by people who have no idea what true terror is. When they see statements like: "he/she must like it or need to be abused", or worse, "why don't they just.." or even worse "he/she must have done something to deserve it", how easy do you suppose it is for a badly battered soul to step up and say I need help??? We are indeed a heartless, careless judgmental culture. To imply a person gets some gratification from being beaten or damaged is unjust and very, very callous. Especially for the victims of prolonged severe abuse, this attitude is very, very harmful. These victims, often in an attempt to escape more abuse, begin to identify with their tormenters. Known as the Stockholm Syndrome, it is a well understood psychological phenomena. Patricia Hearst was reputedly suffering this syndrome during her time as a prisoner of the SLA. She had said that her fear was so great she would have done anything to please her captors. POW's also have suffered with this syndrome. Sam Varkin PHD has this ultimately to say about what happens to the chronically abused at the hands of an unkind judgmental world: "If all else fails, the abuser recruits friends, colleagues, mates, family members, the authorities, institutions, neighbours, the media, teachers - in short, third parties - to do his bidding. He uses these them to cajole, coerce, threaten, stalk, offer, retreat, tempt, convince, harass, communicate and otherwise manipulate his target. He controls these unaware instruments exactly as he plans to control his ultimate prey. He employs the same mechanisms and devices. And he dumps his props unceremoniously when the job is done. Another form of control by proxy is to engineer situations in which abuse is inflicted upon another person. Such carefully crafted scenarios of embarrassment and humiliation provoke social sanctions (condemnation, opprobrium, or even physical punishment) against the victim. Society, or a social group become the instruments of the abuser. "In the long term, such an environment erodes the victim's sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Self-confidence is shaken badly. Often, the victims adopts a paranoid or schizoid stance and thus renders himself or herself exposed even more to criticism and judgment. The roles are thus reversed: the victim is considered mentally deranged and the abuser - the suffering soul." It is important for a caring society not to form preconceived notions of how anyone should react in such situations. We are all made differently and react very differently to the same situations, based on background strengths and environment. Instead of judging someone whose shoes you've never walked in, it might be more mature, to try and understand why they are reacting this way and offer help. To not try.. makes us something less than human and certainly no where near Christian. Idle gossip and specious often cruel speculation helps no one, and demeans us greatly. Ask yourself in the dark still of night: Is this how I would want to be treated? About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
Yahoo! World News Headlines Our Winners Club Our Contributors Research Links Legal Advice ALL Awards & Internships Become an Activist Join an Organization Get Volunteerism Alert Write Letters to a local Politician Start your own Group Applied Politics Projects Suggest a Project Start your Yahoo Groups Get Internship Credit Funding for Projects Encourage Discussion Join Juryfury Chat Promote Juryfury.com Join online discussion Groups Be In the Spotlight Let us Interview you : Authors of political books Activists Journalists Lawyers Law Enforcement Politicians Politican Scientists Be A Columnist Get Internship Credit Write twice a Month Get Heard Start a Yahoo Group Advertise with Us Books (Free) Political Our Staff & Contributors Our Magazines Quietpoly.com I-Traderschool Juryfury.com The Company Our Address: QuietPoly Inc. 240 W. Saunders. Dr. (#146) Flagstaff, AZ 86001 Tel (928) 214-7365 quietpoly@yahoo.com |
|