Domestic Nonviolence:
How to Treat Children as Real Human Beings
This website shares a collection of essays that give form to the ultimate Children's Rights manifesto. The changes in mindset and routine here suggested are not just for children. Improving the lives of adults to also include a fuller expression of basic human rights is a prerequisite for the goal of improving the lives of children.
My favorite way to read any of these is as a small group, so we can talk about what we read together. The best thing about these essays is the quality of conversation that takes place when we look at them together. I hope you use these to get to know your friends better, and to add dimension to your shared intentions.
The basic idea here is that maltreatment in families can be thought of as strains of contagious disease. Along with that premise, an immune system exists to counter those illnesses. In most cultures of the world today, that immune system in children and in the community in general has been suppressed. The essays shared on this website show how to recognize that natural immunity, and how to support the reality of such natural immunity being nurtured in community life.
The old "drama triangle" model of response to cries of maltreatment involve "perpetrator - rescuer - victim" mentality. This is not that. This model is based on mutual empowerment and respect for the sovereignty of each human being. If you are looking to form an organized response to "rape culture" and the whole era of child maltreatment, these pages are for you.
Go to Table of Contents to read the essays on this site.
Define: Nonviolence
"Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to oneself and others under every condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosophy of abstention from violence."
In this application, nonviolence means that intention and attention are put into setting up domestic arrangements that allow each person to have intact human rights, right there inside the family, supported by intentional community. This theory spells out what it means to treat people, including children, like real human beings.
Contact the author, Kay Williams, by email.
My favorite way to read any of these is as a small group, so we can talk about what we read together. The best thing about these essays is the quality of conversation that takes place when we look at them together. I hope you use these to get to know your friends better, and to add dimension to your shared intentions.
The basic idea here is that maltreatment in families can be thought of as strains of contagious disease. Along with that premise, an immune system exists to counter those illnesses. In most cultures of the world today, that immune system in children and in the community in general has been suppressed. The essays shared on this website show how to recognize that natural immunity, and how to support the reality of such natural immunity being nurtured in community life.
The old "drama triangle" model of response to cries of maltreatment involve "perpetrator - rescuer - victim" mentality. This is not that. This model is based on mutual empowerment and respect for the sovereignty of each human being. If you are looking to form an organized response to "rape culture" and the whole era of child maltreatment, these pages are for you.
Go to Table of Contents to read the essays on this site.
Define: Nonviolence
"Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to oneself and others under every condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosophy of abstention from violence."
In this application, nonviolence means that intention and attention are put into setting up domestic arrangements that allow each person to have intact human rights, right there inside the family, supported by intentional community. This theory spells out what it means to treat people, including children, like real human beings.
Contact the author, Kay Williams, by email.
