Violence and Public Health: An Integrated, Evidence-Based Approach to Preventing Domestic Violence and Child Abuse (From Annual Report for 2005 and Resource Material Series No. 69, P 64-76, 2006, Simon Cornell, ed. -- See NCJ-217726)

• NCJ Number: 217728
• Author(s): Alexander Butchart
• Date Published: July 2006
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Japan

Annotation

This article outlines an integrated, evidence-based approach to preventing domestic violence and child abuse.

Abstract

Domestic violence and child abuse are preventable, as evidenced by interventions that address the underlying causes of violent behavior and victimization. Moreover, effective domestic violence interventions have been shown to be less costly than criminal justice responses to domestic violence problems that were never effectively addressed through interventions. The author begins by reviewing the definition of violence developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and highlights the importance of addressing child abuse and domestic violence in an integrated way. The author also reviews the prevalence and impact of different types of violence and their risk factors and causes. The basic components of a public health approach to domestic violence prevention are presented, which involve three levels of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary. When the focus is on partner violence, sexual violence, child maltreatment, and elderly abuse, most public health approaches focus on secondary and tertiary preventions, which address immediate responses to violence and long-term care in the wake of violence. The current status and effectiveness of prevention interventions are examined, which focus on individual-level interventions, relationship-level interventions, community-level interventions, societal-level interventions, and multi-sectoral solutions. The WHO’s Global Campaign for Violence Prevention is overviewed, including its six recommendations for prevention and advocacy and its three recommendations for the promotion of international prevention actions. Finally, the implications of a public health approach to violence prevention for the criminal justice sector are considered, which include concerns about sharing data and collaborating across sectors and shifting the focus from one of several different violence problems to one of a causally-linked violence problem that impacts all types of interpersonal violence. Footnotes