Thématique N°8

Young People Participating in Ordinary Violence, by Michel Vuille

The riots of May 1998 in Geneva drew forth multiple reactions, stances and interpretations in the media and public opinion. The “excesses" committed by youth and even very young "hoodlums" were mostly incomprehensible and appeared as a dark shadow similar to the accursed demonstrations against the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Following the violence, the State Council of Geneva assigned a mission to a group of experts to analyse a) the unfolding of the demonstrations in the street b) the transformation of daily violence in social and individual relationships. In one of their recommendations submitted to the executive authority of the canton in February 1999, the experts clearly defined their position on the matter: “We will address violence as a social construction, which involves various actors and partners. Its cause cannot be reduced to one phenomenon, such as ‘It's the fault of young people.' Thus, violence is always a complex process and requires a multidimensional approach to acts of violence.”

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