ABSTRACT
The origins of human violence have been a subject of considerable speculation over the last few centuries. Are children born ‘evil’ or do they become ‘bad’ as a result of their upbringing? The argument could carry on for ever, as it is essentially a philosophical debate about human nature (Zulueta 1993: 11-24). Meanwhile, whilst the debate continues, some of our infants grow up into cruel, self-destructive, abusive and even murderous children. Those who attempt to give these boys and girls the loving care they seem to need often become desperate in their apparently futile struggle to communicate with them. To others, these children are seen as evil monsters whose misdemeanours can only be dealt with through punishment and increasing control. This polarisation of opinions was made manifest in the aftermath of the murder of James Bulger in November 1993. It reflects a failure to understand the root cause of childhood violence, a failure which in its turn stems from our difficulty in acknowledging how much human beings need one another and how vulnerable they are to failures in their attachment relationships.
