Feb. 2, 2016
1.Violence accounts for nearly 1.4 million deaths per year. This corresponds to over 3,800 people killed every day. Violence is a significant public health, human rights and human development problem.
2.Suicide and homicide account for more than 80% of violence-related deaths. Of those killed by violence, 58% die by their own hand, 36% because of injuries inflicted by another person, and 6% as a direct result of war or some other form of collective violence.
3. 90% of deaths due to violence occur in low- and middle-income countries. Countries with higher levels of economic inequality tend to have higher rates of death due to violence. Within countries, the highest death rates occur among people living in the poorest communities.
4. Violence mainly impacts young, economically productive people. Homicide and suicide are heavy contributors to global death rates among men aged 15-44 years. For every young person killed by violence, an estimated 20-40 receive injuries that require hospital treatment. Among people under 25 years, for every suicide, 100 young people attempt to take their own lives.
5. The health impact of violence is not limited to physical injury. Long-term effects can include depression, mental disorders, suicide attempts, chronic pain syndromes, unwanted pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. Children who are victims of violence have a higher risk of alcohol and drug misuse, smoking, and high-risk sexual behaviour. This may lead, even decades later, to chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer and sexually-transmitted infections.
6. Violence is preventable and its impacts can be reduced
- Proven and promising violence prevention strategies address underlying causes such as low levels of education, harsh and inconsistent parenting, concentrated poverty, unemployment and social norms supportive of violence. Outcome evaluation research is needed to test these strategies in low- and middle-income countries.
Promoting positive, nurturing relationships within families can prevent violence. Proven and promising violence prevention strategies focused on families include providing training for parents on child development, non-violent discipline and problem-solving skills; promoting parental involvement in the lives of children and adolescents through programs to develop home-school partnerships; and mentoring programs to develop attachments between high risk youth and caring adults in order to build social skills and provide a sustained relationship.
8. Societies can prevent violence by reducing risks such as alcohol, guns, and economic and gender inequality. Proven and promising violence prevention strategies that address societal factors include reducing alcohol availability and misuse through enactment and enforcement of liquor licensing laws, taxation and pricing; reducing access to lethal means, including guns, knives and pesticides; and promoting gender equality by for instance supporting the economic empowerment of women.