Addressing the Social and Cultural Norms That Underlie the Acceptance of Violence Q12

Course overview

This course is based upon material published by the National Academy of Sciences and is available as an open access article. Social and cultural norms are rules or expectations of behavior and thoughts based on shared beliefs within a specific cultural or social group. While often unspoken, norms offer social standards for appropriate and inappropriate behavior that govern what is (and is not) acceptable in interactions among people (WHO, 2009). Social and cultural norms are highly influential over individual behavior in a broad variety of contexts, including violence and its prevention, because norms can create an environment that can either foster or mitigate violence and its deleterious effects. Different social and cultural norms influence how individuals react to violence. Researchers have hypothesized that the social and cultural norms that lead to the tolerance of violence are learned in childhood, wherein a child experiences corporal punishment or witnesses violence in the family, in the media, or in other settings (Abrahams and Jewkes, 2005; Brookmeyer et al., 2005; Lansford and Dodge, 2008; WHO, 2009). Witnessing violence in childhood creates norms that can lead to the acceptance or perpetration of a multitude of violent behaviors or acts, but it also may provide a potent point of intervention for violence prevention efforts. Although research in this area is limited, many preliminary studies show promise in actively influencing or altering existing social norms in order to reduce the occurrence of violence within a given population (WHO, 2009). To better understand how social and cultural norms are related to violence and violence prevention, the Forum on Global Violence Prevention convened a workshop to explore the social and cultural norms that underlie the acceptance of violence, with a focus on violence against women across the lifespan, violence against children, and youth violence. The workshop addressed causes, effects, characteristics, and contextual variations related to social and cultural norms related to violence; what is known about the effectiveness of efforts to alter those norms in order to prevent and mitigate such violence; and the role of multiple sectors and stakeholders in the prevention of this violence. This course norms related to violence is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, and intermediate level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of interpersonal violence. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. Authors: The National Academy of Sciences Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding violence and social norms. Specifically, a professional will: Recognize social norms and how they operate in relation to violence Explain the role of religion in influencing social and cultural norms Distinguish social norm approaches in violence prevention Citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2018, Addressing the Social and Cultural Norms That Underlie the Acceptance of Violence: Proceedings of a Workshop in Brief, Washington, DC. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25075. Visit us online for a full year of unlimited online CEUs. I can recognize social norms and how they operate in relation to violence. I can explain the role of religion in influencing social and cultural norms. I can distinguish social norm approaches in violence prevention.