Significant Formal and Informal Agents of Socialisation and the Opportunities They Offer for Curbing Violence of Minors (Juveniles)

Abstract

Violence has become a part of our everyday life and it manifests itself in various forms, e.g. school and family (domestic) violence, abuse of children and animals, etc. As a rule, violence is defined as the behaviour of one person against another that may cause or causes physical injuries. However, it is also possible to define violence in a wider meaning involving bodily and mental injuries, failing to take care or ignoring somebody’s needs.

Violence is not a feature of a safe society. Attitudes of members of society towards the violence characterise the level of their legal consciousness. Legal consciousness is developing in the course of socialisation. Admission and awareness of the problem of violence, especially among the youth, and looking for the means of decreasing it and finding those means contribute to the enhancement and improvement of society’s safety.

A realistic and feasible possibility for society to participate in the active prevention of violence is through socialisation, i.e. the media and the population as a whole, and state as well as social institutions are important agents of socialisation. This article is focused on the violence related to minors and the possibilities of limiting and curbing it with the help of socialisation.