The Difference Between Intentional and Unintentional Injuries

 Injury - also known as physical trauma which refers to damage to the body caused by external
force. This may be caused by accidents, falls, hits, weapons, and other causes.
 Intentional injuries - injuries that occur with purposeful intent and include homicide, suicide,
domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, bias-related violence, and firearms. When someone
planned for harmful actions upon oneself or others (study.com, 2014).
 Intentional injuries are injuries resulting from violence.
 It can be divided into two: self-inflicted when a person harms himself/herself on purpose, and
assault when a person/s harm another on purpose.
 Violence – a set of behaviors that produce injuries.
 Self – Inflected - when a person harms himself/herself on purpose.

 Unintentional injuries - injuries that occur without purposeful intent and are a leading cause of
death and disability.
 Unintentional injuries - harmful acts that occurred without any intention of causing damage to
oneself or others (study.com, 2014).
 Formerly called “accidents”, and leading the case of death and disability for children, teen, and
adults.

SUMMARY

 Injury - also known as physical trauma which refers to damage to the body caused by
external force. This may be caused by accidents, falls, hits, weapons, and other causes.
 Intentional injuries - injuries that occur with purposeful intent and include homicide, suicide,
domestic violence, sexual assault and rape, bias related violence and firearms.
 Unintentional injuries - injuries that occur without purposeful intent and are a leading cause
of death and disability. It is harmful acts that occurred without any intention of causing
damage to oneself or others.

Types Intentional Injures

 These are injuries resulting from violence.

 In addition, Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention (2020) stated that these
injuries are the result of purposeful human action, whether directed at oneself or
others.
 These kinds of actions are intended to cause harm.

1. Self-inflected Injuries - it is when a person harms himself/herself on purpose.

o Suicide – is an intentional taking of one’s life.
 o Parasuicide – a suicide attempt, but the person does not intend to
die.

Some of suicidal tendencies are the following:

o Talking about suicide or death.

o Writing farewell letters or giving away valuable things to their friends and
siblings.
o Showing changes in behavior, moods, and feelings.

2. Assault - it is when a person/s harms another on purpose.

Four Classification:

o Those that were committed within the family

 Domestic Violence - an act that includes physical assault (hitting,
pushing, shoving, etc.)

o Those that were committed by peers

 Bullying - unwanted, aggressive behavior. This behavior is
repeated over time.

Classification of Bullying:

 Verbal bullying – saying or writing mean and nasty things.

 Social Bullying or relational bullying - it is hurting someone’s
reputation or relationships.
 Physical Bullying – hurting a person’s body or destroying
his/her possessions.
 Cyberbullying – verbal and social bullying done through use
of technology and electronic means.
 Stalking - a pattern of behavior that makes you feel afraid,
nervous, harassed, or in danger.
 Extortion - is the act of using force or threats to force people to
handover their money or properties, on favors.

o Those that were committed by other groups

 Gang – this is mostly street-based group of young people who
regard themselves and group that engages in a range of criminal
activity and violence.
 Fraternity – is a group of people with similar backgrounds,
occupations, interests, or tastes. To maintain their exclusiveness,
fraternity members would require an applicant to undergo a series
of initiation rites to become part of the “brotherhood”.
  The Anti-Hazing Act of 1995, officially designated
as Republic Act No. 8049, is a Philippine law that
regulates the acts of hazing and other initiation rites in
fraternities and sororities in the country.
 Kidnapping – is taking away or forcefully moving a person against
his/her will and holding him/her in just captivity.
 Abduction- the action of taking someone away by force
or deception.
 Kidnapping is usually accompanied with a ransom for money or
other gains.
 However, a crime of abduction is when a person has been taken
away from his or her original location by persuading him or her, by
some act of fraud or with a forceful way that may include violence.
 Acts of terror or terrorism - use of violence for political goals and
putting the public or a great number of people in fear.

o Those that were committed by the family, peers, or other groups.

 Within the family, domestic violence may happen.
 Sexual victimization and other forms of abuse and harassment
may be committed by the family, peers or other people.
 This includes verbal abuse, incest, molestation or rape.

3. Sexual victimization and other forms of abuse and harassment

o Verbal Abuse – is a form of cruelty that involves the use of words.

 These words are used to attack, control, and cause harm on
another person.
o Incest – is sexual contact between persons who are so closely related that a
marriage between them is considered illegal (e.g., parents and children,
uncles/aunts and nieces/nephews, etc.).
o Molestation – is the sexual abuse of a person (whether a child or adult) by
an adult for sexual pleasure or for profit.
o Rape – is forced sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal, or penetration.
 Penetration may be by a body part or an object.

Risk Factor Related to Intentional Injuries

 Risk Factors - anything that increases the likelihood of a future negative outcome.
Is a characteristic, condition, or behavior that increases the likelihood of getting a
disease or injury and most often could lead to intentional injuries.
 Safety measures - are actions made in preventing the occurrence of accident by
removing the presence of hazards.
 Precautionary measures - are actions adopted beforehand against possible danger.
  Personal Protective Equipment - is worn to minimize exposure to hazards that can cause
injuries and illnesses, this includes masks, gloves, boots, socks.
o Aggressiveness
o Violent behavior
o Drug addiction
o Alcoholism
o Gangs
o Certain mental illnesses
o Bullying
o Rejection
o Physical abuse
o Sexual abuse
o Verbal, Emotional, and Psychological abuse

 Intentional injuries are something you do with the purpose of hurting yourself or others
and usually caused by violence and often manifest as trauma in victims.
 Many factors influence a person’s chance of developing behavior and violent actions.
 Individual Risk Factors
o History of violent victimization
o Involvement with drugs, alcohol, or tobacco
o High emotional distress
o History of treatment for emotional problems
o Exposure to violence and conflict in the family
 Family Risk Factors
o Low parental involvement
o Low emotional attachment to parents or caregivers
o Poor monitoring and supervision of children
 Peer and Social Risk Factors
o Association with delinquent peers
o Involvement in gangs
o Social rejection by peers, bullying
o Poor academic performance
o Lack of involvement in conventional activities
 Community Risk Factors
o Diminished economic opportunities
o High concentrations of poor residents
o High level of family disruption
o Low levels of community participation
o Socially disorganized neighborhoods
 It is important that you know how to protect yourselves from these intentional injuries.
 Effective prevention on reducing those risk factors and strengthening protective factors must be
identified to address the problems.
Ways to Prevent and Control Intentional Injuries

 People need necessities which include food, clothing and shelter.

 However, even if we have these basic needs, we are still living in fear and uncertainties because
of the dangers of everyday life.
 Violent crimes occur daily, but that does not mean you have to be a victim.
 No matter what you do with your life and how you do it, we are always exposed to dangers, and
we face the risk of serious injury whether we are young or old, rich or poor.
 Some of us might still be afraid or leave home due to fear of getting hurt in the big bad world.
 However, the occurrence of danger cause by our own family members or relatives within the
household is still possible.
 That is why, we need to stay alert and be aware of our surroundings and ways that we can do to
be in control of unavoidable situations.

Five Protective Factors

 SOCIAL CONNECTION were Friends, family, and other members of the community emotional and
proper support to the child or victim in general.
 SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE includes the child/victim's ability to interact and express
his feelings adequately positively.
 CONCRETE SUPPORT IN TIMES OF NEED when the situation arises, he must know when, where,
and whom he can turn to in acquiring for support.
RESILIENCE where the ability to cope and find a solution to every situation he may encounter.
KNOWLEDGE OF ONE'S RIGHTS- accurate information of his rights to take his ground in the case
and stand for it because we all know that no one is above the law.

Intentional Injuries

 are injuries resulting from violence, when a person brings harm to themselves or others on
purpose.
 It can be self- inflicted, when a person harms himself/herself on purpose and assault, when
person/s harm another on purpose.

Outdoor safety measures:

 Assess situation and take action.

 Always walk in well-lit areas.
 Stay in more crowded areas with at least two or more person
 Bring necessary non-lethal defensive tools within and outside the household.
 Pepper spray is an aerosol spray that contains an inflammatory compound called capsaicin.
 Taser is a non-lethal electroshock weapon used to incapacitate targets via shocks that
temporarily impair the target's physical function.

Indoor Safety Measures:

  Close and lock all doors even when leaving for a short period of time. This includes garages and
connecting doors.
 Keep a well-stocked, first aid kit at home, work, and in the car.
 Keep a list of emergency numbers in your home, business, and place of play.
 This list should include the police, fire department, poison control center, local emergency
service (if different than 911), local hospital, and your healthcare providers.
 Be aware and observe the household if there is any signs of abuse or suspicious activities within
family members.

During:

 If you believe a threat is imminent and you see people nearby to help you, try to get their
attention: yell, scream, or make a commotion in any way you can.
 If you see someone else in trouble, call the police immediately.
 If you are facing an armed criminal, the risk of injury may be minimized by cooperating with
his/her demands.
 If you think your life is in immediate danger, use any defense you can think of (screaming,
kicking, and running).
 In a violent crime, it is generally ineffective for the victim to cry or plead with the attacker.
 Such actions tend to reinforce the attacker's feeling of power over the victim.

After:

 After you have avoided the threat of crime, call the police and report all details of the incident,
including:
o Suspect description
o Location of the incident
o Vehicle used (if any)
o Last known direction of suspect
 Remain calm and stay vigilant of your surroundings.
 If there are injuries inflicted, seek for professional medical assistance or aide the injury with first-aid.