THE CONTAGION OF VIOLENCE—A WORKSHOP APRIL 30-MAY 1, 2012
OVERVIEW:
The contagion of violence is a universal phenomenon, occurring at all levels of society and affecting a broad spectrum of individuals. This workshop will present an interdisciplinary, ecological, life-course perspective on the contagion of violence, the processes that promote it, and mechanisms to interrupt and prevent the contagion of violence and promote the contagion of nonviolence.
OBJECTIVES:
• To examine the extent of contagion of violence, the different emotional and cognitive processes through which contagion occurs, and the social and structural moderators of the contagion of violence.
• To explore the role of exposure to violence and violent victimization in the spread of interpersonal and self-directed violence and of internalizing and externalizing psychological problems.
• To understand how the contagion of violence can be interrupted and prevented and how nonviolence can become contagious.
Check-in will begin at 8:15 AM. A continental breakfast will be available.
8:50 AM Welcome
PATRICK KELLEY, Institute of Medicine
9:00 AM Opening Remarks
VALERIE MAHOLMES, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
9:10 AM Introduction
JACQUELYN CAMPBELL, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Forum on Global Violence Prevention Co-Chair
9:20 AM Overview of the Contagion of Violence
GARY SLUTKIN, University of Illinois at Chicago
Moderated Q&A and Discussion
10:05 AM BREAK
10:30 AM - 12:45 PM
SESSION I: Contagion of Violence in Multiple Settings
This session will discuss how violence leads to additional violence. This can occur either as a “viral” spread of one act of violence to many acts of violence, or as a “spillover” effect from one setting or type of violence to another. How does the contagion of violence manifest across types of violence? How are types of violence interrelated? Conversely, how can the spread of violence be halted or prevented?
Facilitator: ROWELL HUESMANN, University of Michigan
10:30 AM Opening Remarks
ROWELL HUESMANN, University of Michigan
Brief Overviews
10:35 AM The Contagion of Street and Community Violence
JEFFREY FAGAN, Columbia Law School
10:50 AM The Contagion of Self-Directed Violence
MADELYN GOULD, Columbia University
11:10 AM The Contagion of Collective Violence
ERIC DUBOW, Bowling Green State University
11:25 AM The Contagion of Family Violence
CHARLOTTE WATTS, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
11:40 AM Contagion, Group Marginalization, and Resilience
CARL BELL, Community Mental Health Council
11:55 AM Facilitated Panel Discussion
12:20 PM Moderated Q&A and Discussion
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM LUNCH
1:45 PM - 4:00 PM
SESSION II: Theories, Processes, and Mechanisms of Contagion
How and why does violence spread? This section will explore the internal and external processes and mechanisms at work. It will also explore the interruption of such processes and mechanisms, and their use for spreading nonviolent messaging and practices. Panelists will offer a brief overview of their respective perspectives and then engage in a facilitated discussion.
Facilitator: ROBERT URSANO, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
1:45 PM Opening Remarks
ROBERT URSANO, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
Brief Overviews
1:55 PM Social-Cognitive Processes in the Contagion of Violence
ROWELL HUESMANN, University of Michigan
2:10 PM Social Contagion and Group Dynamics in Contagion
DEANNA WILKINSON, The Ohio State University
2:20 PM Contagion, Social Influence and Intimate Partner Violence
ANITA RAJ, University California, San Diego
2:30 PM The Role of Emotions and Evolution in Contagion
JEFFREY VICTOROFF, University of Southern California
2:40 PM The Neuroscience of Empathy and Contagion
JAMIL ZAKI, Stanford University
2:50 PM Imitation and Mirror Neurons in the Contagion Process
MARCO IACOBONI, University of California, Los Angeles
3:00 PM Facilitated Panel Discussion
3:35 PM Moderated Q&A and Discussion
3:50 PM Wrap-Up
ROBERT URSANO, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
4:00 PM BREAK
4:20 PM - 5:30 PM
SESSION III: The Contagion at Work
This session will explore some recent, real-world examples of the spread of violence from singular events or settings. Speakers will also examine possibilities for preventing violence or mitigating the effects of violence.
Facilitator: GARY SLUTKIN, University of Illinois at Chicago
4:20 PM Opening Remarks
GARY SLUTKIN, University of Illinois at Chicago
4:25 PM Contagion in the London Riots
JASON FEATHERSTONE, Surviving Our Streets
4:40 PM Contagion in the Arab Spring
ZAINAB AL-SUWAIJ, American Islamic Congress
4:55 PM Facilitated Panel Discussion and Moderated Q&A
5:30 PM ADJOURN DAY 1
DAY 2: TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2012
Check-in will begin at 8:15 AM. A continental breakfast will be available.
9:00 AM Overview of Day 1
ROWELL HUESMANN, University of Michigan
9:20 AM - 11:30 AM
SESSION IV: Social and Structural Moderators/Cofactors of the Contagion of Violence
This session will focus on how systems and practices can contribute to the exacerbation of, or the reduction and prevention of, the transmission of violence. Panelists will offer a brief overview of their respective perspectives and then engage in a facilitated discussion.
Facilitator: EVELYN P. TOMASZEWSKI, National Association of Social Workers
9:20 AM Opening Remarks
EVELYN P. TOMASZEWSKI, National Association of Social Workers
Brief Overviews
9:30 AM The Role of Punishment, Incarceration, and Re-entry
BARRY KRISBERG, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
9:45 AM The Role of Historical Trauma
IRIS PRETTYPAINT, Native Aspirations, Kauffman & Associates, Inc.
10:00 AM The Role of Family and Positive Parenting
DEBORAH GORMAN-SMITH, Chapin Hall
10:15 AM The Role of Migration and Population Displacement
FARIYAL ROSS-SHERIFF, Howard University
10:30 AM Facilitated Panel Discussion
11:00 AM Audience Discussion and Moderated Q&A
11:30 AM BREAK and LUNCH (provided)
11:50 AM - 2:00 PM
SESSION V: Film Screening: The Interrupters
Shot over the course of a year, The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in American cities. The Interrupters tells the stories of three Violence Interrupters who work for an innovative organization, CeaseFire, which uses a public health model to stop the cycle of violence in neighborhoods and communities. The Violence Interrupters, who have credibility because of their own personal histories, intervene in conflicts before they explode into violence.
Note: This film contains scenes of violence and adult language.
11:50 AM Overview
BRIAN FLYNN, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine
12:10 PM Screening
2:15 PM BREAK
2:35 PM - 3:10 PM
SECTION VI: Scaling Up or Translating Programs to Interrupt the Contagion of Violence
Following the film, a panel of speakers will share experiences with interruption in various settings, from the community to health care settings to elsewhere. Speakers will offer thoughts on how violence can be interrupted, and how programs using the interruption mechanism can be scaled up or translated.
Facilitators:
BRIAN FLYNN, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine
CHARLOTTE WATTS, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2:35 PM Overview
CHARLOTTE WATTS, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2:40 PM Panel
The Experience of Interruption
TIO HARDIMAN, CeaseFire Illinois
School-Based Violence and Interruption
PATRICK BURTON, Center for Justice and Crime Prevention, South Africa
Hospitals and Interruption
JOHN A. RICH, Drexel University, Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice
Interrupting Family Violence
VALERIE MAHOLMES, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
3:10 PM Facilitated Panel Discussion
3:30 PM Moderated Q&A
4:00 PM ADJOURN DAY 2