Victim
Violence (definition): the phenomenon of both intentional and
unintentional shaming, lack of support for, and silent denigration of, victims
of abuse and neglect—after they have
suffered episodes of victimisation. It is wherever functions for empathy and
action for victims fail.
Still not enough is known of
violence done to victims. Still not enough is being done. Still not enough
outrage is borne out of this issue.
It will always be time to end
victim violence. But it will never truly
end in this life. But that is no excuse to not fight the good fight of everlasting
advocacy. Indeed, victim violence only has advocacy as the igniter for
systematic societal programs of change, even from a single encouraging act.
Education is massive. So many
people are completely unaware of the victimisation that comprises the violence
against victims, which is separate
from the assaults on their person they suffer out of their actual episodes of
abuse and neglect.
But action is equally massive. If
acts of random kindness were done routinely most of the problem would not
exist. But that is not the world we live in most of the time.
How can we, as individuals, do more?
The most important act regarding
victim violence, which we all may have passively or actively engaged in from
time to time, is to understand violence from the victim’s viewpoint.
Any neglect or abuse is violent.
We could say that any failure to
love is also violent. And the violence against victims almost always runs well
past a simple failure to love. These forces against the victim are destructive
to the point of destroying whole lives. And even though God can redeem every
soul to hope, far many more will find themselves incapable of escaping the
devil’s clutches. So much depression, self-harm, and suicide (among other
effects) takes place as a result.
We help them escape the devil’s
snare by our plain understanding of their
truth; the victim has no case to answer; they have been transgressed; they
feel shame when they shouldn’t feel ashamed at all. Perhaps we feel ashamed
because we are without the ability to adequately empathise. We should say it.
We feel inadequate. That is okay.
Empathy is a meeting of the minds
and hearts. A victim simply needs to be heard. And the process of healing is
made easier, and, in fact, is perhaps started.
Most of all we should be available
to the victim, and even look for the victim in each person we come across. We
should be available to the victim inside us. The more we are open to think
about these issues, the more we gain a grasp over a necessary empathy to help.
The more we do this, the better quality of thought that takes place for helping,
and the more functional our helping can be.
***
It will always be time to end
victim violence. Never will a time come when a perfect end will come, until
Jesus comes. But we love best when our hearts extend into the lives, hurts,
abuses, and neglects of others.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
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