ABSTRACT
War is violence. Suicide is violence. They are lethal violence. War-related
violence, suicide, homicide, and other faces of violence have probably always
been part of the human experience. There are many possible ways of defining
violence. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) defines violence as
the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against
oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results
in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm,
maldevelopment or deprivation. (p. 5)
Intentionality is central. The matter of intentionality is one of the more complex
aspects of the definition of violence. It is core to the definition of war-related
deaths. The Oxford English Dictionary defines intentional as “done on purpose.”
Intentionality is the noun. It is to have as one’s purpose. It is a conscious act.
One intends death in war. One has a purpose: to kill, to induce annihilation.
