NCJ Number
194914
Date Published
March 2002
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This paper presents principles of violence prevention and discusses their implications for policy development.
Abstract
In order to forge effective policy decisions regarding violence prevention and achieve relevant systemic changes in public health, two premises must be taken into account when designing violence prevention programs: there are different types of violence; and violence rates and prevention vary by ethnic groups. Given that there are different types of violent behavior in various contexts with varying prevalence rates among ethnic and racial groups, violence prevention programs must target each type of violence in the contexts where they are prevalent. Beyond these two premises that should determine the general approach to violence prevention, there are a number of basic principles that should be reflected in the violence-prevention strategies developed. One principle is to "rebuild the village." This involves the implementation of measures that can counter poverty, unemployment, single-head households, isolation from neighbors, and weakened community networks and institutions that undermine informal and formal social control. Other principles that must be implemented in violence prevention are the provision of access to health care; improvement in bonding, attachment, and connectedness dynamics; improvement in self-esteem; an increase in social skills; re-establishing the adult protective shield ( developing adult role models and constructive bonding between adults and children); and the minimization of the residual effects of trauma. The aforementioned principles are interdependent and are the key to achieving large, systemic changes in health behavior. A question-and-answer session and 35 notes