Abstract
Is the Violence Prevention Evidence Base Fit to Inform a Global Violence Reduction Strategy?
Global strategies to address violence have increasingly recognised the importance of applying a science-based approach to prevention. The need for evidence has been identified as particularly substantive in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where over 85% of violent deaths occur. These countries are also predicted to account for the vast majority of global population growth over the next 30 years. Thus, understanding what works to prevent violence in less developed societies and how transferrable evidence-based interventions developed in high income countries are to LMICs is fundamental in developing a global violence reduction strategy. Drawing on the rolling systematic reviews conducted to populate the prevent violence evidence base (www.preventviolence.info), a collaborative project between Liverpool John Moores University, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this presentation will examine the state of the global violence prevention evidence base, identifying gaps in its geographical distribution and the types of violence addressed. The evidence base contains almost 400 journal articles reporting findings from violence prevention outcome evaluation studies published between January 2007 and June 2014. The presentation will consider how it can contribute to the development of a global violence reduction strategy and how it could be strengthened to support substantial reductions in violence over the next 30 years.