Ax attack on the RER E platform. How can we explain such violence among young adolescents?

Ax attack on the RER E platform How can we

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    Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical psychologist)

    Several teenagers suffered the brunt of a violent fight that occurred on the RER E platform this morning. But while juvenile delinquency continues to decline in France according to data from the Ministry of the Interior, how can we explain these isolated incidents of juvenile violence? The answer from our expert psychologist.

    This Monday morning, a violent attack took place on the platform of Ozoir-la-Ferrière station (Seine-et-Marne). Four teenagers were attacked by a “rival” gang armed with an axe, according to initial information collected by 20 minutes.

    An ax attack in the middle of the station

    The events took place on the RER E platform, on board a train, shortly before 8 a.m. An altercation broke out between several “rival” teenagers, dressed all in black and some carrying an axe.

    A total of four people were injured, two of them seriously. In detail, one of the teenagers had his hand cut off while another had his skull split with an axe. The other two victims were more lightly injured. According to AFP, minors were also involved in the incident.

    For the moment, if the circumstances surrounding this fight remain “fuzzy”, the police are favoring the track “of a settling of scores between rival gangs“, further reveals 20 minutes. Moreover, in terms of form, if some witnesses claim to have seen said axe, others speak of a knife or a dagger.

    The reactions were not long in coming

    Faced with such a surge of violence, several personalities spoke out.

    The scourge of gang brawls is spreading throughout the territory. I call on the Ministers of the Interior and Justice to coordinate to put an end to this spiral of impunity and violence. I asked the SNCF to make video surveillance tapes available to identify the perpetrators and put them out of harm’s way.“, assured Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region.

    On Twitter, Internet users also say they are “shocked”.

    I’m going to faint“, deplores an Internet user. Another, regrets the terms used: “Ax blows qualified as an incident.”

    But how can we explain these episodes of hatred between young adolescents? Here is our expert’s answer.

    Good in his body, good in his head!

    A lack of benchmarks

    Violence, among some adolescents, can be “a response to emptiness“, a response to “a desperate quest for meaning or recognition“, reveals Amélie Boukhobza.

    At the age when identity is being sought, in full construction, the adolescent can find himself faced with frustrations, anger and needs for affirmation which explode for lack of a framework or channels to express them. For some, this lack of reference points is combined with exposure to extreme models – on networks, in certain groups where violence becomes a way to shine or to “take power” over one’s reality.“, she confides.

    Another key point, which could explain this violence: “The impulsivity specific to adolescence (due to a rearrangement of the gray matter at the level of the frontal lobe) mixes here with a desensitization, nourished by an almost constant immersion in brutal content and a loss of moral reference points. By trivializing aggression, some young people no longer perceive the weight of their actions, forgetting the consequences for themselves and others. underlines the psychologist.

    Faced with this increase in violence, the question is how to strengthen the protection nets. Perhaps by helping these young people to channel this excess anger, by giving them other means of existing and being heard…”, concludes Amélie Boukhobza.

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