What is vicarious violence?
Vicarious violence is a type of gender-based violence. In this case, when cases of violence or domestic abuse occur, a series of physical and/or psychological problems occur in the person being assaulted, whether male or female.
However, if in the family unit there are other cohabitants, such as children, this violence extends to them, either directly, i.e., the abuser acts before the children or indirectly, when they see how one of their family members is abused. In turn, in some cases, the children of the couple may be abused or assaulted – both psychologically and physically – with the aim of hurting the other partner in the relationship. This is known as vicarious violence.
Vicarious violence, therefore, is a type of violence applied to the partner’s child or children with the aim of causing the greatest possible harm to the other partner.
What does it consist of?
Vicarious violence is a form of violence within the family nucleus in which one of the partners carries out a series of behaviors directed at the children with the aim of harming, blackmailing or making the other partner comply with his or her will. It is a mechanism by which pressure is exerted on the other partner to maintain power over him/her.
This type of violence is usually used in certain situations, such as a separation or divorce process, or when one of the partners wishes to rebuild his or her life with another person. In these cases, the aggressor member uses violence against the partner’s own children in order to coerce or prevent certain acts, since he/she considers that the partner may be “his/her property” or not have the right to choose another type of life.
In these cases, the abusive partner knows that the best way to harm the other person is to harm or even kill his or her own children, in order to produce the greatest possible harm to the other parent.
Causes and consequences
The trigger for vicarious violence can be very different. Vicarious violence – although it has also been reported in women against men – is usually from the man to the woman. In many cases, the man has a history of abuse and gender-based violence. The profile of the aggressor is usually a middle-aged man, between 20 and 50 years of age with minor children, who tries to dominate and prevail through authority, fear and violence. On numerous occasions, this type of behavior is aggravated by alcohol or drug use.
In the case of the assaulted partner, seeing how the children suffer this violence, they may give in, extending the submission desired by the aggressor partner. If they do not give in, the abuser, with the aim of harming the other partner as much as possible, may even murder the children, knowing that in this way he/she will cause the greatest possible harm to the other partner. The psychological disorders generated are multiple: stress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress?
If we talk about the child, numerous problems can be generated, both physical and psychological. In the case of the physical consequences, these are the consequences of the possible physical aggressions received by the parent, which may require hospital treatment, produce some disability or even death. On the other hand, in the case of psychological consequences, post-traumatic stress disorders, low self-esteem, social phobia, difficulty with social skills, lack of bonding or empathy, antisocial behavior, aggressive behavior… are frequent.
Treatment of vicarious violence
In order to treat vicarious violence, a multidisciplinary approach is necessary. To begin with, it is necessary that both the citizens themselves and the social, administrative and judicial services work hand in hand in a quasi-preventive manner. In the case of the public, it is important to raise awareness of what mistreatment is, and that, if it is detected, it should be reported in any setting. At the same time, it is important that the legislation itself protects and protects the needs of both the suffering parent and the children themselves.
When vicarious violence occurs, it is important that the parent and the children themselves are guided and assisted by trained psychological professionals, given the numerous collateral effects and damage that can occur in both.
In the case of the loss of the child, an important grieving process will begin.