A new commentary published in Public Health critically explores how the recent progress in preventing violence in the UK must be built upon by fully embedding public health expertise and infrastructure in violence prevention efforts.
The article reflects on how, whilst violence is now widely recognised as a public health issue, achieving and sustaining the reductions required to meet the UK Government’s ambitious target of halving violence requires moving from recognition to action by strengthening the role of public health within violence prevention systems. Rather than relying solely on the language of public health, the authors suggest that public health methods, leadership and long-term infrastructure should play a central role in preventing violence before it occurs. In nations of the UK where responsibility for health, social care and education fall to a devolved government meeting these targets on violence reduction will require an intergovernmental approach.
The commentary builds on evidence from two major books produced through a four-year study of the UK's Violence Reduction Unit programme. It also brings together national policy, international evidence and examples from countries including Spain, Kenya and Australia to explore how public health approaches to violence prevention can be strengthened and sustained over the long term.
Lara Snowdon, lead author, Violence Prevention Programme Lead, Public Health Wales and Researcher at the Public Health Institute, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention, Liverpool John Moores University, said: "Violence doesn't happen in a vacuum. It is underpinned by structural inequalities that shape people's lives and opportunities, which is why we need to move beyond seeing violence as isolated events and instead understand it as a systemic issue that can be prevented."
"Violence has been recognised as a public health issue for thirty years, and that recognition is now genuinely widespread. But recognition on its own hasn't translated into public health infrastructure, workforce, or leadership being embedded in how violence prevention is actually delivered. Without that shift, we're left with the language of public health rather than the discipline itself, and that gap has consequences for how sustainable and how effective this work can be. "
FPH President Professor Tracy Daszkiewicz said: “Violence is preventable, but only if we are prepared to address the root causes through sustained, evidence-based public health action. This commentary highlights that recognising violence as a public health issue is only the starting point.
To make lasting progress we need to ensure public health expertise, leadership and infrastructure are embedded in interventions and systems designed to prevent violence. Investing in a preventative approach not only creates safer communities but also reduced pressure on health, social care and criminal justice services."
The publication offers a timely contribution to national and international discussions about how violence can be prevented more effectively. By bringing together evidence from research, policy and practice, it provides a constructive vision for embedding public health more fully within whole-system approaches to creating safer, healthier communities.
Read the article here.
