Violence Prevention

1
Violence Prevention

• How the World Bank Can Contribute.

2
Violence Prevention a Silent Emergency

• WHO estimate that 520 000 people die every year
  of interpersonal violence in the world (low
  estimate)
• Homicide rates are rising in many regions (LCR,
  AFR, EAST ASIA, ECA)
• Interpersonal and domestic violence kills much
  more people than war and conflicts.
• Rapid growth of urban area represent a major
  challenge for interpersonal violence
• High inequality, and poor governance correlates
  with crime and violence.
• Youth suffer the most from violence and it
  therefore represents a real risk for the future.

3
Why is the World Bank Concerned with Violence
Prevention?

• High Economic Cost of Violence burden of
  judicial system, health care, education, delivery
  of services, foregone investments large and
  small, loss of competitiveness, high cost of
  private security). Estimated 3.3 in the US,
  3.7 of GDP in Jamaica but some study estimate
  even much higher costs
• Negative Impact on Governance Increases
  corruption and undermine public management
• Major Negative Impact on Reducing Poverty
  impact of violence tend to be higher in poor
  neighborhood, especially in cities. Also risk of
  increasing inequality because the rich can
  protect themselves better and it affects more the
  poor and then the middle class
• Investments in Violence Prevention can Produce
  High Economic Benefits. With the right policies
  and political motivation you can get quite high
  return on violence prevention

4
World Bank Approach Breaking the Silos
Peace building and post conflict reconstruction
Crime and common violence prevention
Domestic violence prevention
5
World Bank Approach

• Focus first on prevention and integrated
  approach
• Prevention is where the rate of return of
  investments is the highest
• It involves areas where the WB is already very
  involved (urban planning, health, education,
  social protection, community development)
• It involves strong collaboration between
  different levels of authority (central
  government, regional governments, municipalities)
  where the Bank engage in policy dialogue
• Monitoring systems and data gathering
• Help develop judicial systems
• New activities where we still have limited role
• Focus on access to justice for the poor and
  providing judicial services and protection to the
  poor
• We do not get involved much in security and hard
  core justice reform

6
Overall approach

• Advocacy inside the World Bank and with client
  countries. Demonstrating the value for
  development
• Respond to demand from clients (Latin America
  and a few countries in Africa and Asia)
• Integrate into conflict prevention and fragile
  countries strategy
• Integrate into urban development strategy
• Integrate into youth Development
• Demonstration of viability into projects (mostly
  urban projects)
• Quality Study and Analysis

7
Provide a framework for violence prevention

• Creation of CCV team and internal recognition of
  the importance of the issue
• Work on cost of violence
• Study on community based approaches to violence
  prevention
• Scale up advocacy through conferences and
  seminars
• A chapter of 2010 World Development Report
• Integrated in World Bank Urban Strategy
• Bank Internal Working Group on Violence
  Prevention with about 50 members
• Engage with external partners (WHO, OECD, OAS,
  UNDP, IDB, OSI)

8
Program of Analysis In LAC

• Crime Violence and Economic Development in
  Brazil. 2006
• Crime, Violence and Development in the Caribbean
  (With UNODC, 2007)
• Crime and Violence in Central America (In 2009)
• New program of research on crime and Violence in
  Brazil (2009 and 2010)
• Study in community based violence prevention in
  urban areas (Port au Prince, Fortaleza, Dilli,
  Nairobi, Johannesburg )

9
Example of Pilot Projects and Technical Assistance

• Bahia as part of urban project
• Quito as part of a program to address urban risk
• Japanese Grant on violence prevention in Jamaica
  and El Salvador
• Mexico program of technical Assistance
• Honduras as part of urban project
• Training and capacity building
• School based violence prevention tool kit
  implemented in Colombia and Nicaragua

10
Challenges and Progress

• Still seen as a political and security issue by
  some countries and by some of our colleagues.
• Main instrument is lending
• Legitimacy of the World Bank not yet established
• Difficulty to push integrated approaches when we
  have a sectoral dialogue
• Need to find credible approaches in fragile
  countries
• Work program is increasing rapidly in Latin
  America
• Interest is growing in other region