Vasa Statement

The Vasa Statement on Education for Killing-Free Societies

The Vasa Statement on Education for killing-free societies was created under the auspices of the Center for Global Nonkilling, whose motto is "to promote measurable change toward a killing-free world. As a member of the Nonkilling Psychology Research Committee, I received from Joám Evans Pim, Director of the Center for Global Nonkilling, a draft of the Vasa Statement for review and recommendations. I responded to Joám with recommendations that led to the addition of Item 8 into the statement as well as the addition of 24 references to pertinent literature that I provided. Regarding Item 8, Joám informed me that while the topic it addresses had been discussed at the conference, the committee who had drafted the statement had forgotten to include it.. He was glad that I had brought it to his attention.

The statement is available at the following link:

http://nonkilling.org/center/2015/04/27/vasa-statement-on-education-for-killing-free-societies/

You can find the full statement at the preceding link, as well as the following background information on the conference that led to the creation of the statement:

"On March 24-25, 2015, sixty participants from twenty countries gathered in Vasa, Finland, for an exploratory conference focusing on the role and potential of education in bringing about a killing-free world, including scholars, practitioners and students in the fields such as education, anthropology, psychology, political science and philosophy to promote a creative exchange of ideas.

The conference was convened by Åbo Akademi University’s Program in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research and the Center for Global Nonkilling. This statement contains a set of recommendations drafted by the graduate students of the Program’s course on Nonkilling Studies incorporating notes from the conference and participant’s feedback. References providing additional information for each item can be found in the appendix."

The following is a copy of my response to Joám, along with the references I provided:

Dear Joám,

Thanks for sending the draft of the Vasa Statement and for inviting comments and further references. As a member of the Nonkilling Psychology Research Committee, I have read and reflected on this with keen interest. Congratulations for the collaborative thought, research, and care that have resulted in this significant statement. I have pulled together some references of relevance and itemized them following the format of the original document. If time allows, I may be adding to this list.Please see my recommendations of additional references below my signature.

The Vasa Statement does not, in my opinion, adequately address the contexts of structural violence and militarization that result in so much killing and devastation, consume vast resources, and, thereby, severely limit the funds that would be needed to support the admirable educational and teacher-training goals that the statement proposes. This reservation notwithstanding, I am in solidarity with the vision of the Vasa Statement.

Peace,

Mitch Hall

Item 1:

Anda, R.F., Felitti, V.J., Bremner, D.J., Walker,J.D., Whitefield, C., Perry, B.D., Dube, S.R., & Giles, W. (2006). The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood: A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 256, pp.174-186.

Gerhardt, S. (2004). Why love matters: How affection shapes a baby’s brain. Hove and New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Gilligan, J. (1996). Violence: Reflections on a national epidemic. NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Gilligan, J. (2001). Preventing violence. NY & London: Thames & Hudson.

Grille, R. (2005). Parenting for a peaceful world. Sydney: Longueville Media.

Karr-Morse, R. & Wiley, M. S. (1997). Ghosts from the nursery: Tracing the roots of violence. NY: The Atlantic Monthly Press.

Oliner, S. P. & Oliner, P. (1988). The altruistic personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe. New York: The Free Press.

Perry, B. D. (1997). “Incubated in terror: Neurodevelopmental factors in the ‘cycle of violence.’ In J. Osofsky (Ed.). Children, youth and violence: The search for solutions. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 124-148.

Perry, B.D. (2001). Violence and childhood: How persistent fear can alter the developing child’s brain. Retrieved June 22, 2008 from www.ChildTrauma.org.

Perry, B. D. (2002). The vortex of violence: How children adapt and survive in a violent world. Retrieved June 6, 2008 from "http://www.ChildTrauma.org" www.ChildTrauma.org.

Perry, B. D. & Szalavitz, M. (2006). The boy who was raised as a dog: And other stories from a child psychiatrist's notebook: What traumatized children can teach us about loss, love and healing. NY: Basic Books.

Schore, A. N. (2003). Early relational trauma, disorganized attachment, and the development of a predisposition to violence, pp. 107-167, in M.F. Solomon, & D. J Siegel (eds.) (2003). Healing trauma: Attachment, mind, body, and brain. New York & London, W. W. Norton & Company.

Stephenson, J. (1998). Poisonous power: Childhood roots of tyranny. Diemer, Smith Publishing Co., Inc.

Sunderland, M. (2006). The science of parenting. London, NY, Munich, Melbourne, Delhi: DK Publishing, Inc.

Szalavitz, M. & Perry, B.D. (2010). Born for love: Why empathy is essential--and endangered. New York: William Morrow.

Wilkinson, S. L. (2003). A recipe for violence: Potent mix of brain chemistry, brain damage, genetics, and environment leads to aggression. Chemical & Engineering News 81 (22), June 2, 2003.

World Health Organization. (2009). Violence prevention--The evidence: Preventing violence through the development of safe, stable and nurturing relationships between children and their parents and caregivers. Downloaded April 6, 2015 from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241597821_eng.pdf?ua=1

Item 3:

World Health Organization. (2009) . Violence prevention--The evidence: Preventing violence by developing life skills in children and adolescents. Downloaded April 6, 2015 from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241597838_eng.pdf?ua=1

Item 4:

Kohn, A. (1986). No contest: The case against competition--Why we lose in our race to win. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Item 5:

Barry III, H. (2007). Corporal punishment and other formative experiences associated with violent crimes. The Journal of Psychohistory, 35(1), pp. 71-82.

Gershoff, E. T. (2008). Report on physical punishment in the United States: What research tells us about its effects on children. Columbus, OH: Center for Effective Discipline.

Gershoff, E. T. & Bitensky, S. H. (2007). The case against corporal punishment of children: Converging evidence from social science research and international human rights law and implications for U. S. public policy. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 13(4), 231-272.

Kohn, A. (1993/1999). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A’s, praise, and other bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Kohn, A. (2005). Unconditional parenting: Moving from rewards and punishment to love and reason. New York: Atria Books.

Lansford J.E., Chang, L., Dodge, K.A., Malone, P.S., Oburu, P., Palmacrus, K., Bacchini, D., Pastorelli, C., Bombi, A.S., Zelli, A., Tapanya, S.,

Chaudhary, N., Deater-Deckard, K., Manke, B., & Quinn, N. (2005). Physical discipline and children's adjustment: Cultural normativeness as a

moderator. Child Development, 76 (6), pp. 1234-1246.

Miller, A. (1983). For your own good: Hidden cruelty in childrearing and the roots of violence. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.

Item 6:

Grossman, D. & DeGaetano, G. (1999). Stop teaching our children to kill: A call to action against tv, movie & video game violence. NY: Crown Publishers.