Skip Navigation Links.
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 12 (2024)</span>Volume 12 (2024)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 11 (2023)</span>Volume 11 (2023)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 10 (2022)</span>Volume 10 (2022)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 9 (2021)</span>Volume 9 (2021)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 8 (2020)</span>Volume 8 (2020)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 7 (2019)</span>Volume 7 (2019)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 6 (2018)</span>Volume 6 (2018)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 5 (2017)</span>Volume 5 (2017)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 4 (2016)</span>Volume 4 (2016)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 3 (2015)</span>Volume 3 (2015)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 2 (2014)</span>Volume 2 (2014)
Collapse <span class="m110 colortj mt20 fontw700">Volume 1 (2013)</span>Volume 1 (2013)
American Journal of Public Health Research. 2023, 11(1), 25-37
DOI: 10.12691/AJPHR-11-1-5
Original Research

The Nexus between Violence against Children and Public Health: The Experiences of Oromo People in Ethiopia

Begna Dugassa1,

1The Oromo Studies Association (OSA), Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Pub. Date: February 15, 2023
Full Text PDF

Cite this paper

Begna Dugassa. The Nexus between Violence against Children and Public Health: The Experiences of Oromo People in Ethiopia. American Journal of Public Health Research. 2023; 11(1):25-37. doi: 10.12691/AJPHR-11-1-5

Abstract

Background: Violence and public health have always been viewed as distinct, non-overlapping social issues. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that violence is contagious, has incubation periods, is predictable, and is preventable. For example, in Ethiopia, racist ideas are instilled in formal and informal schools. Those ideas resulted in consecutive collective violence that ravaged Oromia-Ethiopia. Therefore, societies must think and act “upstream” to prevent violence. Objectives: This study aims to collect and evaluate the causes of violence against children and their relationship to public health to give theoretical and practical justifications and methods for “Upstream” solutions. Methodology: Using a systemic thinking framework, captured the underlying causes of violence against children and its public health repercussions. Findings: Violence in general and violence against children is an enduring problem. Racist theories taught in schools inform the Ethiopian government to covertly and overtly promote collective violence. The Ethiopian government collectively attacked the Oromo people, their institutions, and their leadership and legalized structural inequalities. Collective violence has eroded social protective factors, increased risks, and widened violence against children. Violence against children is a multiplier of social problems. Unless we apply public health strategies, slash the risks, and foster the development of protective social conditions, the problem will aggravate. Conclusions: The significant causes of violence against children are racist theories, collective violence, climate change, and poverty. Understanding the causes of violence through public health lenses offers theoretical and practical tools to foster peace. If Oromos can freely determine their affairs, they will better identify their problems and solutions. The Oromo people's efforts to self-determine their affairs are part and parcel of strategies to widen their choices, tackle structural violence, and progressively create healthy social conditions where children's growth and development can flourish.

Keywords

violence, collective violence, child violence, public health, Oromia/Ethiopia

Copyright

Creative CommonsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References

[1]  WHO, 2002, World Report on Violence and Health, Geneva, Switzerland.
 
[2]  APHA, 2018 Violence is a Public Health Issue: Public Health is Essential to Understanding and Treating Violence in the U.S., Policy number 20185.
 
[3]  Darkwah, Kofi R.H. 1975. Shewa, Menelik and the Ethiopian Empire. London: Heinemann.
 
[4]  De Salviac, M. (1901/2005). The Oromo: An Ancient People: Great African Nation.
 
[5]  Bulatovich, A. (2000). Ethiopia through Russian Eyes, Country in Transition 1896- 1898m. Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc
 
[6]  Dugassa, Begna. (2012). Denial of leadership development and the underdevelopment of public health: the experience of the Oromo people in Ethiopia, The Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol. 19, Issue 1-2, p139-174.
 
[7]  Dugassa, Begna. (2008). Indigenous Knowledge, Colonialism and Epistemological Violence. The Experience of the Oromo People Under Abyssinian Colonial Rule, A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
 
[8]  Dugassa Begna. (2021B). Structural Inequality (SI) and Underdevelopment of Public Health Conditions: the Experiences of Oromo people in Ethiopia. HPHR.; 30.
 
[9]  Dugassa, Begna. (2021). The Public Health Significance of Religious Imposition: The Experience of Oromo People in Ethiopia. J Relig Health. 60, 974-998.
 
[10]  Czyzewski, Karina. (2011). Colonialism as a Broader Social Determinant of Health, The International Indigenous Policy Journal, Vol 2, Iss 1, Health and Wellbeing.
 
[11]  Dugassa, Begna. (2018). The Significance of Collective Rights to Public Health Development: The Case of Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia, American Journal of Public Health Research. 6(5), 203-214.
 
[12]  Rosen, George. (1993). The History of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
 
[13]  Dugassa, Begna. (2008). Colonial Trauma, Community Resiliency and Community Health Development: The Case of the Oromo people in Ethiopia, Journal of Health & Development, Vol. 4, No. 1-4, p43.
 
[14]  Mercy, J; Rosenberg, M ; Powell K; Broome, C, and Roper, W (1993) Public health policy for preventing violence , Health Affairs, 12, no.4, 7-29.
 
[15]  Glover, Chris & Makooie, Bobbak. (2018). Exposure to Community Violence as a Social Determinant of Health, Report to Toronto Board of Health.
 
[16]  Slutkin, Gary; Ransford, Charles and Zvetina Daria (2018). How the Health Sector Can Reduce Violence by Treating it as a Contagion, AMA Journal of Ethics® January 2018, Volume 20, Number 1: 47-55.
 
[17]  Butts, Jeffrey; Gouvis Caterina, Roman; Bostwick, Lindsay and Porter, Jeremy (2015) Cure Violence: A Public Health Model to Reduce Gun Violence, Annu.Rev. Public Health, 36: 39-53.
 
[18]  Meadows, Donella (2008) Thinking in Systems, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, Vermount.
 
[19]  Dugassa, Begna. (2014). Reclaiming Oromo Indigenous Organizational Structures and Fostering Supportive Environments for Health, Archives of Business Research – Vol.2, No.1, p2-24.
 
[20]  HRW - Human Rights Watch (1991) Evil Days: Thirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia, An African Watch Report, New York.
 
[21]  Dugassa, Begna; Diba Fantahun and Bachie Oli (2021) Climate Change and Public Health in the Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia and Its Implications for the Nile Basin. American Journal of Public Health Research; 9(6): 257-269.
 
[22]  Jalata, A. (2005). Oromia and Ethiopia. State Formation and Ethnonational Conflict 1868-2004. Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc.
 
[23]  Holcomb, B., & Ibssa, S. (1990). The Invention of Ethiopia: The Making of a Dependent Colonial State in North Africa. Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc.
 
[24]  Bunch, A. J. (2015). Epistemic violence in the process of othering: Real-World applications and moving forward. Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark, 1(1), 2.
 
[25]  Dugassa, Begna. (2006). Ethiopian Language Policy and Health Promotion. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. Vol. XXXIII, No. 4, Page 69-86.
 
[26]  ICESCR (1966). International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx ICCPR (1966).
 
[27]  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx.
 
[28]  Taipale, Ilkka; Makela, Helena; Juva Kati; Taipale, Vappu; Kolesnikov, Sergei; Mutalik Raj and Christ Michael. (2002). War or Health? A Reader, University Press, Dhaka.
 
[29]  Clay, J., & Holcomb, B. (1986). Politics and the Ethiopian Famine 1984-1985. New Brunswick and Oxford: Transaction Books.
 
[30]  Dugassa, Begna. (2019). Public Health Impacts of Famine in the Horn of Africa American Journal of Public Health Research, 2019, Vol. 7, No. 5, 171-181.
 
[31]  Bellis, MA; Hughes, K; Leckenby, N; et al (2014). Adverse childhood experiences and associations with health-harming behaviours in young adults: surveys in eight eastern European countries. Bull World Health Organ, 92 (2014), pp. 641-655.
 
[32]  Lata, L. (2000). The Ethiopian State at the Crossroads: Decolonization, Democratization or Disintegration? Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc.
 
[33]  WHO. (1986). Ottawa Charter Health Promotion, https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhanced-wellbeing/first-global-conference.
 
[34]  CRC (1989) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child.
 
[35]  UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights, https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
 
[36]  Mann, Jonathan; Gruskin, Sofia; Grodin, Michael and Annas, George (1999) Routledge, New York.
 
[37]  World Literacy Rate by Country 2023 https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/literacy-rate-by-country (Retrieved February 9, 2023.
 
[38]  Dugassa, Begna. (2004). Human Rights Violations and Famine in Ethiopia. The Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol.11, Number 1 and 2, page 47-68.
 
[39]  Dugassa, Begna. (2003). Powerlessness and the HIV/AIDS Epidemics in the Ethiopian Empire. The Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol.11, Number 1 and 2, page 31-66.
 
[40]  Scutchfield, Douglas and Keck, William. (1997). Principles of Public Health Practice, Delmar Publishers, Albany USA.
 
[41]  WHO, (1998). Health Promotion Glossary, https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/about/HPR%20Glossary%201998.pdf?ua=1.
 
[42]  Arain, M; Haque, M Johal, L; Mathur, P; Nel, W, Rais, A; Sandhu, R; Sharma, S (2013) Maturation of the adolescent brain, Neuropsychatric Disease & Treatment 9, 449-461.
 
[43]  Dugassa, Begna. (2015). Epistemic Freedom and Development of Better Public Health Conditions: The case of Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia, Journal of Oromo Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1& 2, p199-238.
 
[44]  WHO, (2006) Working together, the World Health Report, https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43432/9241563176_eng.pdf; jsessionid=88734744401BE7668B485E6CE48B357D?sequence=1 (Retrieved February 9, 2023).
 
[45]  Crichlow, W. (2002). Western colonization as disease: Native adoption & cultural genocide. Critical Social Work, 2(2), 104-126.
 
[46]  Financial Times (2023) War in Tigray May have killed 600,000 people, Peace Mediator Says https://www.ft.com/content/2f385e95-0899-403a-9e3b-ed8c24adf4e7.
 
[47]  Slutkin, G. (2013). “Violence Is a Contagious Disease.” The Contagion of Violence. Institute of Medicine. Available at: www.cureviolence.org/wp-content/ uploads/2014/01/iom.pdf.
 
[48]  McLeod, S. A. 2018, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, viewed 30 November 2018, www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.
 
[49]  Baker, L. L., Jaffe, P., & Ashbourne. (2002). Children exposed to domestic violence: An early childhood educator’s handbook to increase understanding and improve community responses.
 
[50]  CDC 10 Essential Public Health Services https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/publichealthservices/essentialhealthservices.html (Retrieved on September 5, 2021).
 
[51]  UNICEF UNICEF’s Commitment to Ending Child Poverty and Achieving the SDGs: Measurement, Advocacy and Evidence Based Policies, https://www.unicef.org/media/123281/file/UNICEF%E2%80%99s%20Commitment %20to%20Ending%20Child%20Poverty%20and%20Achieving%20the%20SDGs.pdf (Retrieve October 3, 2022).
 
[52]  Dugassa, Begna. (2016). Free Media as the Social Determinants of Health: The Case of Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia, Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 6, 65-83.
 
[53]  Lemessa, Dechassa and Perault, Matthew. (2002). Forest Fires in Ethiopia: Reflections on Socio-Economic and Environmental Effects of the Fires in 2000-An Assessment Study June-September 2001. The Journal of Oromo Studies Volume 9, Numbers 1 and 2, pp95-130.
 
[54]  Dugassa, Begna. (2021). “Climate Change and Public Health Challenges in the Horn of Africa: The Need for Sustainable Leadership and Institutions.” American Journal of Public Health Research, vol. 9, no. 1: 5-17.
 
[55]  WHO & Alliances for Health Policy and Systems Research. (2016). Open Mindsets: Participatory Leadership for Health, https://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/resources/publications/participatory-leadership/en/ (retrieved on July 1, 2019).
 
[56]  Dugassa, Begna (2019). Public Health Impacts of Famine in the Horn of Africa, American Journal of Public Health Research., 7(5), 171-181.
 
[57]  Rowith, Louis. (2001). Public Health Leadership, Putting Principles into Practice, An Aspen Publication, Maryland, USA.
 
[58]  Krieger, Nancy. (2001). Theories for Social Epidemiology in the 21st Century: an ecological perspective, International Journal of Epidemiology, 30 668-677.
 
[59]  World Bank Life expectancy at Birth, Total Years, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=ZG (retrieved on November 27, 2020).
 
[60]  Raphael, Dennis. (2004). Social Determinants of Health, Canadian Perspectives, Canadian Scholars Press, Inc.
 
[61]  Dugassa, Begna. (2012). Knowledge Construction: Untapped Perspective in Pursuit for Health Equity. Sociology Mind, 2, 362-372.