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Preventing violence: a guide to implementing the recommendations of the World Report on Violence and Health.
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2004
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Violence AssessmentSocial Determinants Of HealthPediatric TraumaPartner ViolencePrevention ProgramsViolence Against WomenViolencePublic HealthPrimary Prevention EffortsDomestic ViolenceHealth SciencesPrimary PreventionHealth PolicyViolent CrimePrevention SystemGender-based ViolenceSocial ImpactPsychological ViolenceGlobal HealthSociologyInternational HealthChild Abuse PreventionDomestic Violence PreventionAggressionWorld Report
Interpersonal violence is violence between individuals or small groups of individuals. It is an insidious and frequently deadly social problem and includes child maltreatment youth violence intimate partner violence sexual violence and elder abuse. It takes place in the home on the streets and in other public settings in the workplace and in institutions such as schools hospitals and residential care facilities. The direct and indirect financial costs of such violence are staggering as are the social and human costs that cause untold damage to the economic and social fabric of communities. With the publication in 2002 of the World report on violence and health an initial sense of the global extent of the interpersonal violence problem was provided and the central yet frequently overlooked role of the health sector in preventing such violence and treating its victims was made explicit. The report clearly showed that investing in multi-sectoral strategies for the prevention of interpersonal violence is not only a moral imperative but also makes sound scientific economic political and social sense and that health sector leadership is both appropriate and essential given the clear public health dimensions of the problem and its solutions. The report also reviewed the increasing evidence that primary prevention efforts which target the root causes and situational determinants of interpersonal violence are both effective and cost-effective. In support of such approaches the report recommended six country-level activities namely: 1. Increasing the capacity for collecting data on violence. 2. Researching violence – its causes consequences and prevention. 3. Promoting the primary prevention of violence. 4. Promoting gender and social equality and equity to prevent violence. 5. Strengthening care and support services for victims. 6. Bringing it all together – developing a national action plan of action. (excerpt)