Tag: rape

Importance of being intolerant

Posted on by kathiemm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYPRudsBzBY
Following the mindless slaughter of the First World War, the failure of the League of Nations, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the unendurable losses of World War II, nations came together as the United Nations.

In the Preamble to the United Nations Charter, we find the words:

‘We, the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, … to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, … and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours…”

The theme of tolerance appears frequently in U.N. documents. At the urging of UNESCO, 1995 was declared the United Nations Year for Tolerance. The year-long campaign for tolerance and non-violence was followed by the selection of November 16 to be the annual International Day for Tolerance.

Tolerance means respect for differences, appreciation of diversity. It means liberating oneself from the chains of prejudice, the burden of discrimination,  and achieving freedom from hatred of others who happen to differ in skin color, religion, language, sexual orientation, and other human characteristics.

For peace and social justice to be achieved, tolerance for diversity must go hand-in-glove with intolerance for many barbaric practices that continue to create suffering and anger in today’s world, including:

  • Rape
  • Female genital mutilation
  • Torture
  • Violence against women
  • Violence against children
  • Violence against men
  • Murder, including capital punishment and war-time killing

Tomorrow is the day to show tolerance for other human beings and intolerance for inhumane practices.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Weapons of war: rape

Posted on by kathiemm

All weapons of war are weapons of destruction and pain. Previous posts have reminded readers of the pervasive lethal effects of, for example, nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and landmines.

Another violent and devastating tactic recognized by the United Nations Security Council as a weapon of war is rape.

In its resolution calling for an end to sexual violence against women, the Security Council said, “Women and girls are particularly targeted by the use of sexual violence, including as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instill fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group.”

A recent report from the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights focused on the horrendously high rates of rape by warring groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and the Dafur region of Sudan.

Unfortunately, we must add to the list of wartime horrors the rape of U.S. servicewomen by U.S. servicemen. Watch the video above; you will not easily forget.

And for a horrifying example of moral disengagement in regard to the rape of women in the U.S. military, watch Liz Trotta of Fox News blame the victims.

If you watch these and other videos, you will want to do something. Stop Rape Now, the U.N. Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict agency, provides several suggestions, including the simple action of crossing your arms. Learn what you can do to stop this weapon of war.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Humiliation: Terry Jones and the deadliest of emotions

Posted on by kathiemm
Poster of Terry Jones: Intolerance breeds hatred
Poster by Eric Gulliver, 2011

If you have ever been deeply humiliated—by a schoolyard bully, members of a gang, even a loved one—you know what feelings of powerlessness and rage can beset you. Humiliation is exactly what was done by Pastor Terry Jones when he followed through on his threat to burn the Qu’ran last week.

Sadly, Jones has achieved many of his probable goals: he has proven himself able to defy that bugaboo, the government; he has gained notoriety as a crusader for the supremacy of his hate-filled form of Christianity; he has incited the violence he knew he would incite, thereby making a few small groups of Muslims look like vicious animals.

The dangers of humiliation are many:

  • Amnesty International has designated humiliation as psychological torture, along with sleep deprivation, isolation, and mock executions.
  • Efforts at humiliating the enemy in times of armed conflict can also take a markedly physical form, as when the armed forces of one side rape the women of the other side.

Humiliation has been widely recognized as an experience that can lead to many forms of violent confrontation, including war and terrorism.  For example:

  • Many historians believe that humiliation of the German people at the end of World War I  led to the rise of Hitler and World War II. Allied powers were sufficiently convinced by this argument to prevent a similar humiliation of the defeated powers after World War II.
  • Perceptions of historical injustice and humiliation have been identified as factors leading to suicide bombing and other forms of terrorism. When individuals and groups believe that they have been repeatedly and unjustifiably humiliated, they may decide they have nothing to lose by committing violent and punitive acts of revenge.

Let us all work to be sure that Pastor Terry Jones does not achieve what is likely his ultimate goal–a genocidal attack on Muslims.  Let us hope that he is jailed for the rest of his life for violating international law and the dignity of adherents to Islam.

Let us also consider alternative ways to cope with people who frighten and anger us. I will have some suggestions on that topic in Thursday’s post.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Moral disengagement – Introduction

Posted on by kathiemm
Photo of 3 monkeys in "hear, speak, see no evil" poses
Hear, Speak, See No Evil. Toshogu Prefecture, Japan. (Unconditional permission granted by photographer, via WikiMedia Commons.)

Psychologist Albert Bandura has devoted his life to the study of human aggression and violence.  It is his theoretical constructs that we begin considering today.

Bandura recognized that shame and guilt are uncomfortable emotions and that people will utilize a variety of strategies to avoid feeling them.

For some people, feelings of shame and guilt resulting from bad behavior may lead to positive character development, mature intimacy, generativity, and integrity.

Other people use strategies of “moral disengagement” to help them avoid shame or guilt while continuing to behave badly.

According to Bandura, “mechanisms of moral disengagement” can serve to satisfy their users that they are behaving morally because they are conforming to the values of their role models, spiritual guides, or political leaders.

Unfortunately, many leaders, often with the help of the media, promote the development and use of moral disengagement in order to insure their followers’ compliance in acts of horrifying violence against others.  For example, they encourage viewing “the enemy” as someone evil, inferior, and deserving punishment or even elimination.

Bandura has identified several types of moral disengagement that allow ordinary people to tolerate and even contribute to behaviors like torture, rape, and murder–behaviors that violate the ethics of reciprocity, the teachings of love and brotherhood in all major religious texts, and the human rights laws endorsed by the United Nations.

These mechanisms of moral disengagement include:

  • “Moral” justification–which we prefer to call “spurious moral justification”
  • Euphemistic labeling
  • Advantageous comparison
  • Displacement of responsibility
  • Disregard or distortion of consequences
  • Dehumanizing or demonizing the other

In upcoming posts, we will explore each of these mechanisms in more detail, and give common examples of their use. We will also introduce the mechanisms of moral engagement that allow individuals to resist spurious calls to violence in the name of peace.

Be sure to check back to learn more.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Note: This post was adapted from my previously published article in Peace Psychology (a publication of the American Psychological Association), Spring, 2009.