Aiming for the Right Thing:

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Aiming for the Right Thing Collaboration for
Armed Violence Prevention
Dr David Meddings Department of Injuries and
Violence Prevention World Health Organization
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Violence is socially determined, and the
prevention of violence requires acting on social
determinants
Acting on social determinants requires
collaboration
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Fundamentally, little of this is genuinely new.
Rather, the picture emerging from social
epidemiology and research on violence and
inequality is a rediscovery of a truth that many
people once recognized intuitively. Hard data and
statistical analysis now show that inequality is
indeed socially corrosive. Richard Wilkinson.
Why is Violence More Common Where Inequality is
Greater?
Wilkinson R. Why is Violence More Common Where
Inequality is Greater? Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1036
112 (2004). 2004 New York Academy of Sciences.
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Diadema, Brazil Alcohol sales
Municipal law (no alcohol sales after 23h) Public
education/participation Alcohol retailer
education Active, equitable, honest
enforcement Progressive administrative penalties
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Social skill development
Early childhood intervention Teacher training
classroom management Parent training behaviour
management Child social and emotional skill
development
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Ecological model and violence prevention entry
points and interventions
Ecological level Entry points Interventions
Individual Parents educational system Social skill development emotional skill development
Relationship Parents community leaders educational system Parenting-training programmes mentoring programmes home visitation programmes early childhood education social skill development
Community Community leaders urban planning departments national governments international agencies, development assistance agencies and PRSPs Social support networks poverty deconcentration community institutions promotion of social integration
Societal National governments intersectoral government mechanisms development assistance agencies bilateral donors public corporate partnerships Legislation health communication, social marketing access to lethal means and alcohol penalizing harmful and risky behaviours
Adapted from Mercy JA, Mack KA, Steenkamp M.
Changing the social environment to prevent
injuries. In Doll LS, Bonzo SE, Mercy JA, Sleet
DA. (eds.) Handbook of Injury and Violence
Prevention. New York, NY Springer, 2006.
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Ecological model and violence prevention entry
points and interventions
Ecological level Entry points Interventions
Individual Parents educational system Social skill development emotional skill development
Relationship Parents community leaders educational system Parenting-training programmes mentoring programmes home visitation programmes early childhood education social skill development
Community Community leaders urban planning departments national governments international agencies, development assistance agencies and PRSPs Social support networks poverty deconcentration community institutions promotion of social integration
Societal National governments intersectoral government mechanisms development assistance agencies bilateral donors public corporate partnerships Legislation health communication, social marketing access to lethal means and alcohol penalizing harmful and risky behaviours
Adapted from Mercy JA, Mack KA, Steenkamp M.
Changing the social environment to prevent
injuries. In Doll LS, Bonzo SE, Mercy JA, Sleet
DA. (eds.) Handbook of Injury and Violence
Prevention. New York, NY Springer, 2006.
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• 10 best buys in violence prevention
• Increase safe, stable, and nurturing
  relationships between children and their parents
• Reduce availability and misuse of alcohol
• Reduce access to lethal means
• Improve life skills and enhance opportunities for
  children and youth
• Promote gender equality and empower women

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• 10 best buys in violence prevention
• Change cultural norms that support violence
• Improve criminal justice systems
• Improve social welfare systems
• Reduce social distance between conflicting groups
• Reduce economic inequality and concentrated
  poverty.

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• Challenges to collaboration

• Balancing the desirability for greater
  coordination with the reality of differing
  perspectives, mandates, and orientations to
  addressing the problem of armed violence.
• Mobilising resources for cross-sectoral/inter-orga
  nisational armed violence prevention initiatives.
  
• Developing more effective learning models which
  bridge gaps across levels and between normative
  and programme practice environments.
• Finding a common perspective through which armed
  violence prevention can be considered and
  approached.