Rethinking youth violence and healing

Abstract

In a world where violence and healing are posited as oppositional, critical youth studies, youth work practitioners, and human rights and social justice activists often locate themselves on the healing side of the divide, shedding light on the suffering and alleviating the pain of the violence. However, current theoretical developments prompt us to critically engage this oppositional binary constructed between violence and healing. We have come to a crossroads where we can no longer innocently position ourselves on the side of healing because we are deeply implicated in the violence as well. In this paper, we draw on our research on the healing practices of racialized minority youth in Canada to think through the prevailing dichotomy of violence and healing. We use a poignant case scenario of an ordinary encounter in an ordinary place to explore the complexities of the space between youth violence and healing and make visible their inseparably relational and interactional nature. We draw on both foundational and emergent conceptualizations of encounters, emotions, spaces and places, as well as subjects and subjectivities to rethink and theorize youth violence and healing.

Keywords:

• youth violence
• youth healing
• tacit violence
• social harm
• social healing

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) for the generous grant to support the research on which this paper is based. We would also like to thank the reviewers and editors of the Journal of Youth Studies for their insightful critique and meticulous attention.