Violence pervades the lives of many people around the world, and touches all of us in some way. To many people, staying out of harm’s way is a matter of locking doors and windows and avoiding dangerous places. To others, escape is not possible. The threat of violence is behind those doors – well hidden from public view. And for those living in the midst of war and conflict, violence permeates every aspect of life.
This report, the first comprehensive summary of the problem on a global scale, shows not only the human toll of violence – over 1.6 million lives lost each year and countless more damaged in ways that are not always apparent – but exposes the many faces of interpersonal, collective and self-directed violence, as well as the settings in which violence occurs. It shows that where violence persists, health is seriously compromised.
The report also challenges us in many respects. It forces us to reach beyond our notions of what is acceptable and comfortable – to challenge notions that acts of violence are simply matters of family privacy, individual choice, or inevitable facets of life. Violence is a complex problem related to patterns of thought and behaviour that are shaped by a multitude of forces within our families and communities, forces that can also transcend national borders. The report urges us to work with a range of partners and to adopt an approach that is proactive, scientific and comprehensive.
We have some of the tools and knowledge to make a difference – the same tools that have successfully been used to tackle other health problems. This is evident throughout the report. And we have a sense of where to apply our knowledge. Violence is often predictable and preventable. Like other health problems, it is not distributed evenly across population groups or settings. Many of the factors that increase the risk of violence are shared across the different types of violence and are modifiable.
One theme that is echoed throughout this report is the importance of primary prevention. Even small investments here can have large and long-lasting benefits, but not without the resolve of leaders and support for prevention efforts from a broad array of partners in both the public and private spheres, and from both industrialized and developing countries.
Public health has made some remarkable achievements in recent decades, particularly with regard to reducing rates of many childhood diseases. However, saving our children from these diseases only to let them fall victim to violence or lose them later to acts of violence between intimate partners, to the savagery of war and conflict, or to self-inflicted injuries or suicide, would be a failure of public health.
While public health does not offer all of the answers to this complex problem, we are determined to play our role in the prevention of violence worldwide. This report will contribute to shaping the global response to violence and to making the world a safer and healthier place for all. I invite you to read the report carefully, and to join me and the many violence prevention experts from around the world who have contributed to it in implementing its vital call for action.