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AVERT Definition of Empathy
and how it relates to
violence-prevention
Empathy is the process of stepping outside of oneself for a moment and into the shoes of another. It is our human ability to understand the thoughts, emotions, and perspective of another human being by drawing on our own life experience for insight into their situation. It is understanding, both emotionally and intellectually, what it might be like to be standing in the shoes of the other person and how we might respond if in a similar circumstance.
When addressing the issue of violence-prevention empathy is extremely important because it permits us to do several things. First, it gives us a chance to predict the behavior of the other, and second, it allows us the possibility to affect the outcome before it’s too late.
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