A violence-free society requires a united response from the entire community: St. Ignatius of Loyola as an Upstander
Abstract
This episode from the autobiography of St. Ignatius is especially relevant today, October the 2nd, when we celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence. What Ignatius did that night was to act as an "Upstander", that is, he did not turn his back on the episode of violence against those two women, but on the contrary, he broke the silence and protected the victims. This courageous action easily prevented further aggression against the two women.
Chapter IV, number 38, of the Autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola recounts his arrival in Gaeta from Barcelona in 1523.He was joined by a mother and a daughter, who were also beggars. At midnight, in the house where they were staying, Ignatius heard loud cries coming from the area where the two women were resting. He got up to see what it was and saw the women in the courtyard crying, “lamenting that the men wanted to force them”. Ignatius of Loyola did not remain the same: “He felt such a great impetus that he began to shout, saying: “Is this to be suffered?”this behavior ofIgnatius of Loyoladrove the harasser men away.
This episode from the autobiography of St. Ignatius is especially relevant today, October the 2nd, when we celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence. What Ignatius did that night was to act as an "Upstander", that is, he did not turn his back on the episode of violence against those two women, but on the contrary, he broke the silence and protected the victims. This courageous action easily prevented further aggression against the two women.
This type of "upstander" behavior appears in the scientific literature as central to contributing to the elimination of different types of abuse. Scientific research shows us that: a) the problem of abuse is universal, occurs in all contexts, and has social roots - this is also indicated in UAP2 - and b) overcoming abuse requires the positioning of peers and all people in the community, regardless of who perpetrates the abuse.
The strategy of involving and positioning the whole community as upstanders is one of the three factors shared by educational programs that have been shown internationally to contribute to eliminating violence against children and creating a culture of protection. The list of these 13 successful programs and actions and their analysis, published in the European Commission's report "Achieving Student Well-Being for All: Educational Contexts Free of Violence" points out that all of them promote zero violence contexts through the involvement of the whole community, as well as favor quality human relationships that protect against violence.
If the victim is left alone, the abuse continues. The same thing would have happened that night if Ignatius of Loyola had decided to ignore what was going on in another room of that house. However, if victims have not only one person but a whole network of courageous solidarity in their own community and institution, there is a much greater chance that they will step forward. In this way, they can move from victims to successful survivors. For this to happen, therefore, it is not only necessary to protect the direct victims of different types of violence, such as abuse, bullying, etc., but also to protect those who protect them. Institutions that include in their protocols and policies against abuse not only mechanisms of solidarity with the victims but also measures to protect those who courageously decide to break the silence and support them, are more capable, if these protocols are lived in daily interactions, of contributing to eliminate violence. Therefore, as the EC’s report points out, working towards the elimination of violence must include concrete actions to prevent and eliminate violence towards those who protect the victims ("isolating violence").
In coherence with this scientific evidence, the global strategy of the Society of Jesus to contribute to eliminate abuse, the Promoting a Consistent Culture of Protection Project (PCCP), has from its inception a community-based approach and is now taking steps that will reinforce this dimension in training and formation globally. Through policies, protocols, and training developed in all the Provinces, Regions, and Networks of the Society of Jesus in the world, PCCP is contributing to the development of a new culture of quality human relationships that is bringing us closer to the world free of violence we dream about, for which we work, and that we commemorate today.
Sandra Racionero-Plaza, PhD
4th ranked scientist in safeguarding
(Google scholar)
Assistant Project Coordinator
Promotion of Consistent Culture of Protection (PCCP)
Jesuit Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat (SJES)
