Natalia Vashakidze Relays Her Journey to Pinpoint and Rectify “Unconscious” Bullying

The social world has characteristics that set itself and people apart, but knowing how to address issues is a necessity. Natalia Vashakidze, an associate professor and lawyer, discusses her experiences reaching out to children and proposing solutions to problems like bullying, national security, and family law.

Welcome, Natalia. I see you have plenty of years of experience in the law industry. What steps did you take to become a professional with the title Head of the Criminal Law Section?

I first entered the world of law when I attended the Akaki Tsereteli State University School of Law in 1993. After graduating in 1998, I became a prosecutor assistant in Kutaisi, Georgia, in 2003, during which time I gained much hands-on experience handling cases and conducting legal research. I fully invoked my excellent communication skills because I had to speak with witnesses and police personnel to ensure a just trial for the accused party.

From there, I became a teacher at Georgian Technical University, a law school, and instructed my students about family law, the ethics of justice, and hereditary law. In 2007, I furthered my studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University, where I earned my Ph.D. in law. The topic I chose for my dissertation was “President Institute – Comparing Analyses. Countries used as an example: Georgia, Russia, and the United States of America.”

While enrolled at the university, I became a family law and constitutional law seminar director. After graduating in 2015, I remained employed at Lomonosov Moscow State University Law School as a professor of gender equality and family law. I took a marketing and psychology course in 2017 to advance my knowledge about human beings. Around that time, I joined the Association of Lawyers and became the Head of the Criminal Law section, an honor that I can attest to my scientific articles and communication skills.

You have written many scientific works in the field of law. What topics have you written about, and why are they important to you?

Most of my writings deal with violence against women and children and what provokes violence from young parties. I want the world to become a safer place, and my hope is for children to grow up knowing how protective our police officers are and how to have a sincere attitude of gratitude toward them. I believe that public acceptance is a condition of national security; the public will not be safe if society does not accept the work of law enforcement agencies.

My mission is to understand the human psyche and discover the roots of societal issues like bullying and a lack of trust. Since the pandemic, the Philadelphia Police Department has continued to recruit me to train police officers in building psychological support for suicidal youth to gain confidence.

Other writings focus on a person’s harmonious development, where society and individual behavior do not conflict with each other’s interests. In other words, a healthy society contributes to development because when free people unite, they experience the success of a value-based society.

What do you believe is the reason for bullies in our society?

From my research, violence comes in two forms: open and unconscious. Open violence is short-term and is directed toward a defensive subject. On the contrary, unconscious violence is characterized by a long-term context directed at a subject who cannot defend himself.

Crimes in America and Georgia are practically the same, but their roots are starkly different. They can begin fostering from family experiences, school, or in the community; the offender does not have a nationality, place, or affiliation when committing a crime or bullying another person.

In several international conferences, I have described how bullying from an early age is detrimental to a child’s mind because it shapes the person – behavior, and consciousness – they become in the future. So, it is essential to understand any individual’s background and let society allow young children to express themselves freely. The psychological background of an offender – family, school, current events, and other circumstances – influences character and personal development.

How can we mitigate bullying in all societies?

It will take time for communities to adjust. Still, we can hope for a patient, lenient, and forgiving society, as these qualities are ideal for a fair and prosperous civilization. Some penitentiary institutions throughout the United States are considering an alternate form of punishment for teenagers without using coercive educational measures. They want to adopt a uniform bullying prevention program that is legally binding and formalized.

About the Interviewer

Monika Moljak, an owner of an investigation agency, is a curious private detective who has performed extensive background checks and surveillance for clients in her community. She mainly works on computer forensics cases for home system failure and digital media.