World Mental Health Day 2002

In the opening section of this document, we have discussed the extent of the problem. Now it is time to take a close look at the real and agonizing impact violence and trauma have on our children. Because there are many different types of violence and trauma, the resulting pain has many faces:

• The agonized face of a child soldier who has been forced from his home and made to kill for a cause he doesnt understand;
• The forlorn face of the refugee child, disenfranchised and sometimes orphaned, who struggles in a camp far from a familiar home;
• The scared face of a child who sees her mother battered or her own hopes shattered by abuse from those she trusted;
• The angry face of a child whose games and TV make him believe that might is right and leave him with few skills for negotiating resolutions without violence;
• The teary face of an adolescent girl kidnapped to be the wife of a military commander; and
• The frightened face of a child who can no longer play outside her home because her neighborhood is filled with violence.

Violence and trauma can affect children drastically, even if they are only witnesses to the violence. Some of these effects are:

Children may also revert to behaviors they grew out of years ago or may cry more easily. Adolescents may become more aggressive or begin to use drugs or alcohol to feel better. In some cases, the effects are lingering and powerful. Some children and adolescents develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other mental illnesses that damage their lives, as well as negatively affect their ability to raise their own children effectively.

In this section, we will focus on different forms of trauma and violence against children and adolescents. First, we will describe the problem, then describe its developmental impact on children, and finally offer hope with strategies for successful interventions.

The three forms of trauma and violence we will cover are broken down into the following categories:

(1)   Domestic (or family) abuse and community violence;

(2)   War and refugees (fleeing from war or natural disasters); and

(3)   Violence in the media.

A WORLD FIT FOR CHILDREN

Although successful programs can be found in all regions of the world, as adult citizens of the world we still have a long way to go to make the world fit for children. We The Children describes this ideal world:

A world fit for children is a just and peaceful world. It is one in which all children are given the love, care and nurturing they need to make a good start in life, where they can complete a basic education of good quality and, in adolescence, can develop their potential in a safe and supporting environment that will help them become caring and contributing citizens. This is the kind of world children deserve and one that we as adults have an irrefutable obligation to create.

Strategies describing how you can help create that world are provided in the next section.