Violence

Violence is the use of physical force by people to harm other living beings, causing pain, injury, disablement, death, damage, or destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as the intentional use—whether threatened or actual—of physical force or power against oneself, another person, or a group or community. This can result in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation, but the definition also includes violence that does not lead to injury or death.

The WHO sorts violence into three broad categories: self-directed, interpersonal, and collective. This system distinguishes between harm a person inflicts on themselves, harm between individuals or small groups, and harm carried out by larger groups like states. Violence can also be classified as either instrumental or hostile.

Self-inflicted violence has two forms: suicidal behavior (including thoughts and attempts) and self-harm (such as self-mutilation).

Collective violence, per the WHO, is the instrumental use of violence by people who identify as members of a group—whether temporary or permanent—against another group or individuals to achieve political, economic, or social goals. It may be targeted or stochastic. Political violence includes conflicts led by communities, states, and other groups; its most extreme form is war, which requires multi-factorial analysis. Economic violence involves attacks for financial gain, such as disrupting economic activity, blocking access to essential services, or creating economic division. Slow violence is often invisible, gradual, and structural, occurring through degradation, attrition, and pollution. Structural violence happens when social structures or institutions harm people by preventing them from meeting basic needs or rights.

Interpersonal violence can be subdivided by type of abuse (physical, emotional, etc.), location (home, work, etc.), or age disparity (child, elder). It can affect victims' other relationships in both the short and long term.

Intimate partner violence (or domestic violence) includes physical, sexual, and emotional violence by a current or former partner. While males can be victims, it disproportionately affects females, and commonly occurs in child marriages or early/forced marriages. Among unmarried adolescents, it is sometimes called dating violence.