The Violence Interruption Process Working Assumptions Violence is learned and can be unlearned. The most basic assumption underlying the VIP way of working is that people are basically good, intelligent, curious about life. and embedded with a cooperative spirit. The phenomenon of violence, which is manifested in acts of antisocial or criminal behavior or other destructive acts, is not in any way inherent to particular individuals or communities.
Violence is interpersonal and institutional.
While verbal, emotional, and physical violence occurs between people, institutions are also violent in their treatment of individuals because they belong to a particular group. VIP assumes that violence has an institutional dimension as well as an interpersonal one. This translates into the systematic mistreatment of individuals. A person's choices in areas of attitudes, actions, and values are made as the best perceived survival strategy at the time. Individuals who have not been exposed to nonviolent attitudes and behaviors cannot be expected to practice them.