--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One act of violence takes four…" description: "\"One act of violence takes four generations to heal.\" — Gloria Steinem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/gloria-steinem-277_acts-of-violence_one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generatio_1918286.jpg" --- # One act of violence takes four generations to heal. ![“One act of violence takes four generations to heal.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/gloria-steinem-277_acts-of-violence_one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generatio_1918286.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/gloria-steinem-277_acts-of-violence_one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generatio_1918286.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/gloria-steinem-277_acts-of-violence_one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generatio_1918286.jpg) > “One act of violence takes four generations to heal.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violent acts cast long shadows, affecting descendants for generations. **In simple terms:** Violence hurts many generations. Key Takeaway Address root causes, prevent violence. Themes violence generational trauma social justice Mood somber reflective Type cautionary inspirational When to use this quote - family counseling - community education - policy reform - restorative justice Key Concepts psychology intergenerational impact social policy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies break cycles of violence? - What support helps affected families heal? A Different Perspective Healing may be slow and requires collective effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acts of violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-violence/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Four generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four-generations/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [It takes four generations to recover from every act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-adamson/it-takes-four-generations-to-recover-from-every-act-of-violence/) [Rebecca Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-adamson/) > [Every act of violence is also a message that needs to be understood. (23-24)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/every-act-of-violence-is-also-a-message-that-needs-to-be-understood/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [The cost of growth is always a small act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-cost-of-growth-is-always-a-small-act-of-violence/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The attention of the media is only caught by acts of violence... so I must perform this act of violence against myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-change/the-attention-of-the-media-is-only-caught-by-acts-of-violence-so-i/) Kathy Change > [When a trans woman gets called a man, that is an act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laverne-cox/when-a-trans-woman-gets-called-a-man-that-is-an-act-of-violence/) [Laverne Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laverne-cox/) > [I have yet to see a serious act of violence that was not provoked by the experience of feeling shamed and humiliated, disrespected and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gilligan/i-have-yet-to-see-a-serious-act-of-violence-that-was-not-provoked-by-2/) [James Gilligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gilligan/) > [I think people are propelled towards violence, and what propels them is much more interesting than the actual act of violence itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/i-think-people-are-propelled-towards-violence-and-what-propels-them/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-is-an-act-of-violence-pushed-to-its-utmost-limits/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost bounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-is-an-act-of-violence-pushed-to-its-utmost-bounds/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [The introduction of numbers as coordinates is an act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-weyl/the-introduction-of-numbers-as-coordinates-is-an-act-of-violence/) [Hermann Weyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-weyl/) > [We know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world, but maybe we could try to stop one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-know-we-can-t-stop-every-act-of-violence-every-act-of-evil-in-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-therefore-is-an-act-of-violence-to-compel-our-opponent-to-fulfill/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [An unjust law in itself is an act of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/an-unjust-law-in-itself-is-an-act-of-violence/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It will take 150 years or seven generations to heal the wound of the residential school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gord-downie/it-will-take-150-years-or-seven-generations-to-heal-the-wound-of-the/) [Gord Downie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gord-downie/) > [“When you've committed yourself to violence it takes an almost inhuman effort to stop short. It's one of those things that once you've started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/when-you-ve-committed-yourself-to-violence-it-takes-an-almost-inhuman/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Acts of violence quotes > [There was a man named Robert Dear who in court said he was a warrior for the babies, whose ex-wife talked about his Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/there-was-a-man-named-robert-dear-who-in-court-said-he-was-a-warrior/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [“By the time they're out of preschool, most children have already seen thousands of acts of violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/by-the-time-they-re-out-of-preschool-most-children-have-already-seen/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [We would never ask any other faith community to stand up and condemn acts of violence committed by people within their groups. The fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sarsour/we-would-never-ask-any-other-faith-community-to-stand-up-and-condemn/) [Linda Sarsour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sarsour/) > [I learned that victims come in all image - some raped, some witnessing an act of violence, some losing loved ones. I learned that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zainab-salbi/i-learned-that-victims-come-in-all-image-some-raped-some-witnessing/) [Zainab Salbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zainab-salbi/) > [I want people around the world to hear me. To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-people-around-the-world-to-hear-me-to-all-those-who-would-do/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [How do we deal with not just the acts of violence, but the extremist ideology that lies behind them? Because though the numbers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/how-do-we-deal-with-not-just-the-acts-of-violence-but-the-extremist/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Muslim leaders around the globe have to continue working with us to decisively and unequivocally reject the hateful ideology that groups like ISIL and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/muslim-leaders-around-the-globe-have-to-continue-working-with-us-to/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The introduction of numbers as coordinates by reference to the particular division scheme of the open one-dimensional continuum is an act of violence whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-weyl/the-introduction-of-numbers-as-coordinates-by-reference-to-the/) [Hermann Weyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-weyl/) > [“He wished he understood where they come from: all the terrorists, religious revolutionists and hate-criminals. Did terrorizing entire communities of people help them sleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thisuri-wanniarachchi/he-wished-he-understood-where-they-come-from-all-the-terrorists/) [Thisuri Wanniarachchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thisuri-wanniarachchi/) > [By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/by-the-age-of-18-the-average-american-has-witnessed-200-000-acts-of/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Of course I tensed up when he touched me. To be with him was to hurt him-inevitably. And that's what I'd felt as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/of-course-i-tensed-up-when-he-touched-me-to-be-with-him-was-to-hurt/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [We have agreed with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cease all acts of violence against the Israelis and against the Palestinians wherever they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abbas/we-have-agreed-with-prime-minister-ariel-sharon-to-cease-all-acts-of/) [Mahmoud Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abbas/) > [I feel like acts of violence against women are detestable, and they need to be dealt with, and they are important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-priestley/i-feel-like-acts-of-violence-against-women-are-detestable-and-they/) [Jason Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-priestley/) > [Another bigger problem is the fact that these incidents of police violence continue to occur because far too often the officers on the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakeem-jeffries/another-bigger-problem-is-the-fact-that-these-incidents-of-police/) [Hakeem Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakeem-jeffries/) > [During the summer of 2009, the debate on health care reform was emotional and intense. At its best, it represented the free exchange of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chellie-pingree/during-the-summer-of-2009-the-debate-on-health-care-reform-was/) [Chellie Pingree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chellie-pingree/) [Browse all 133 Acts of violence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-violence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One act of violence takes four generations to heal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generations-to-heal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acts of violence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generations-to-heal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/gloria-steinem-277_acts-of-violence_one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generatio_1918286.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/gloria-steinem-277_acts-of-violence_one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generatio_1918286.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/gloria-steinem-277_acts-of-violence_one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generatio_1918286.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One act of violence takes four generations to heal.” — Gloria Steinem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One act of violence takes four...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generations-to-heal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/one-act-of-violence-takes-four-generations-to-heal/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```