Keynote Speakers

Keynote

Sexual violence constitutes a profoundly aberrant psychological experience for victims and a systemic failure when considering those who perpetrate it. Understanding its origins requires acknowledging a complex, multifactorial interplay of developmental, psychological, social, and contextual contributors. The literature highlights how early adverse experiences, attachment difficulties, cognitive distortions, emotional dysregulation, and sociocultural norms that tolerate or normalize gendered power imbalances can all contribute to the emergence of sexually aggressive behaviors. Consequently, prevention efforts must target these domains, promoting healthy emotional development, challenging stereotypes and prejudicial beliefs from early childhood, and fostering environments that reduce vulnerability and risk. When violence unfortunately occurs, a dual therapeutic mandate becomes essential. Beyond providing clinical support to victims, it is equally crucial to work with individuals who have committed the offence. Effective intervention with perpetrators requires confronting the amoral nature of the act, addressing cognitive distortions, questioning entrenched belief systems, and treating emotional and relational deficits that may sustain offending patterns. Such evidence-based rehabilitation is fundamental for reducing the likelihood of relapse. Comprehensive “care”, therefore, operates on multiple levels -individual, relational, and societal - recognizing that prevention and intervention must be integrated to address the full complexity of sexual violence.

Giulio D’Urso, PhD, is Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Italy. Rector’s Delegate for the Coordination of the University’s Psychological Counselling Service. 

Member of the UNESCO chair on Childhood Maltreatment.

His primary research interests focus on analyzing risk and protective factors related to bullying and victimisation, the long-term consequences of victimization, and the psychosocial and developmental aspects of sexual offenders.

We live in an age of division, and exposure to violence seems omnipresent in everyday life in many places around the world.  How can we nurture a sense of caring and gentleness in a violent world, and how can we support our children to become kinder and gentler? In this talk, I will discuss the role of caring-kindness in children’s development. This includes research on the development of empathy for others and for the self amid adversity, as well as the buffering effects of kindness against exposure to trauma, violence, and conflict. Next, I will introduce a theoretical framework for the study of kindness across contexts, the Web of Care. Based on this framework, I will present kindness-based approaches to promoting children’s well-being and mental health. This includes intervention research aimed at reducing the negative effects of exposure to violence on child development via caring relationships and kindness. I conclude with recommendations for the next generation of intervention research on kindness to counteract exposure to violence.

Tina Malti is a child psychologist, registered clinical psychologist, and author.

She currently holds an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship of Early Child Development and Health at Leipzig University and is the Founding Director of the Humboldt Science Center for Child Development and the Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy at the University of Toronto