Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2022 Jan;37(1-2):NP803-NP829. doi: 10.1177/0886260520918569. Epub 2020 May 13.
Violence prevention efforts must take into consideration the potentially stigmatizing labels associated with violence, and how youth perceive different types of violence in their communities. Somali communities and individuals in North America have at times been labeled as at-risk for violence, with two notable examples being gang violence and ideologically motivated violence, or violent radicalization. Little is known, however, about how the youth themselves think about and understand these types of violence in their communities. In this article, we seek to answer the following questions: How do Somali immigrants think about violence in their communities, and the stigma related to this violence? and What are the implications of these perceptions/beliefs for violence prevention? Data are drawn from two qualitative studies conducted as part of an ongoing community-based participatory research (CBPR) collaboration between academic partners and Somali communities in three cities in North America. Study 1 consists of nine focus groups ( = 36, male only), and Study 2 consists of in-depth interviews ( = 40, male and female). All participants are Somali young adults living in North America. Overall, radicalization to violence is seen as a remote and irrelevant issue in the Somali community. Participants distance themselves from the idea of radicalization to violence and from those who participate in radical acts or held such beliefs. In contrast, gang involvement is characterized as a major problem for Somali communities, and a product of the marginalization associated with being a refugee in Canada or the United States. Findings suggest that prevention efforts focused on gangs are more likely to be acceptable to communities than those focused on violent extremism.
预防暴力行为必须考虑到与暴力相关的潜在污名化标签，以及青年如何看待社区中不同类型的暴力。在北美，索马里社区和个人有时被贴上暴力风险的标签，其中两个显著的例子是帮派暴力和意识形态驱动的暴力，或暴力极端主义。然而，关于青年自己如何看待和理解社区中的这些类型的暴力，人们知之甚少。在本文中，我们试图回答以下问题：索马里移民如何看待社区中的暴力行为，以及与这种暴力相关的污名化？这些看法/信念对预防暴力行为有何影响？研究数据来自于北美三个城市的学术合作伙伴与索马里社区之间进行的两项定性研究，这两项研究是正在进行的基于社区的参与性研究（CBPR）合作的一部分。研究 1 由 9 个焦点小组组成（=36 人，仅限男性），研究 2 由深入访谈组成（=40 人，男性和女性）。所有参与者都是生活在北美的索马里青年。总的来说，暴力极端主义被视为索马里社区中一个遥远且无关紧要的问题。参与者远离暴力极端主义和参与激进行为或持有此类信仰的人的想法。相比之下，帮派参与被描述为索马里社区的一个主要问题，是在加拿大或美国作为难民而面临边缘化的产物。研究结果表明，针对帮派的预防工作比针对暴力极端主义的预防工作更有可能被社区接受。
