This month, organizations like WHO, the World Health Organization, will gather in Stockholm Sweden to find a way to end violence against children. The meeting comes as part of the U.N’s plan to end violence against children by 2030, according to Voice of America. Half of the children on earth who are between the ages of two and 17 are victims. Physical, emotional, sexual violence, or neglect will happen to one half of the world’s two billion children. Meaning, one of two children on earth are being abused.
Consequences of childhood trauma are extremely damaging. Children can grow up to develop mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar, and more, including post traumatic stress disorder. Having a mental illness and experiencing trauma at a young age creates a higher risk for substance use issues in adolescence, teenagehood, and adulthood. Additionally, the combination of trauma, mental health issues, and possible substance abuse increases the risk for suicide. If you are having troubling thoughts of suicide, you are not alone. Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to talk to someone, get support, and be reminded that your life matters: 1-800-273-8255.
Tragically, the article reports, “The ultimate consequence of violence is death.” Homicide is a top leading cause of death for adolescents. Young children who have yet to experience the fullness of life experience only the worst of it, then lose their life to violence.
Ending Violence Against Children
Children are not born into the world violent individuals. There are, on rare occasions, children born with psychopathy who have no ability to connect with emotions or empathy. Violent from a young age, they see nothing wrong with thoughts or fantasies of violent acts. Otherwise, children are taught to be angry. Violence is in music, books, movies, and on TV. Video games put guns in children’s hands and repeatedly demonstrate nonconsequential death. Children learn lessons about violence from their parents, siblings, family members, and friends, which means that what we teach children, as well as what we expose them to, has to change. When an adult violently harms a child, that adult is suffering. Most likely, they have experienced some kind of traumatic pain in their childhood which has gone unresolved. If adults can learn to resolve their trauma through treatment, therapy, and recovery, they will have no need to enact similar pain onto other children. Ending violence against children can start with adults learning to end violence with themselves by breaking the genetic chain of trauma before it damages another generation.
If you have experienced trauma in your life and struggle to cope with the pain in healthy ways, you are not alone. Everyone has a story when they come to The Guest House Ocala. Our specialized treatment facility offers private care for traumas, addictions, and related mental health issues. Call us today for information on how we can help you recover: 1-855-483-7800