GLOBAL STRATEGIES TO REDUCE VIOLENCE - The Role of the World Health Organization
Dr. Christopher Mikton - World Health Organization, Violence Prevention Technical Officer at the Department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability
The talk will be followed by the launch of the report "Global Strategies to Reduce Violence by 50% in 30 Years - Findings from the WHO and University of Cambridge Global Violence Reduction Conference 2014" and an expert discussion with
Prof. Manuel Eisner - University of Cambridge, Director of the Violence Research Centre, Deputy Director of the Institute of Criminology and Professor of Comparative and Developmental Criminology at the Institute of Criminology
The event is followed by a drinks reception.
Free admission.
All are welcome!
Christopher Mikton has been working in the Prevention of Violence Unit in the Department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, for the past seven years. His work has been focusing on preparing the Global status report on violence prevention 2014; synthesizing evidence and developing evidence-based technical guidelines for the prevention of different forms of interpersonal violence; supporting the prevention of interpersonal violence in developing countries, with a particular focus on child maltreatment prevention; integrating violence prevention into early childhood development programmes; and developing a global information system on violence prevention, called V-Info. He was educated at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (PhD and MPhil in Criminology) and McGill University in Montreal, Canada (BA). Before joining WHO, he worked as a clinical scientist for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice and Department of Health's Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme. In the past, he has also worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross.ABOUT THE TALK
Title
WHO's Global Strategy for Preventing Violence and the Role of Research and Evidence Within It
Abstract
In this talk, I will describe the violence prevention strategy the World Health Organization (WHO) has been pursuing over the past twelve years - and which is currently in the process of being re-assessed - in light of WHO's main functions and of the development of the broader field of violence prevention. I will focus in particular on the central part played in this strategy by the large scale implementation of evidence-based "programmes". I will also discuss the role of research and evidence in the different components of the strategy - which is central in relation to the normative component (issuing of guidelines) but almost absent in relation to the advocacy and other components. I will try to identify the nature of the research and evidence required to strengthen this strategy and suggest how the University of Cambridge's Violence Research Centre might be able to help. My hope is that participants' comments on this presentation will contribute to the series of consultations WHO is currently conducting to revise its violence prevention strategy.
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ABOUT THE REPORT
Title
Global Strategies to Reduce Violence by 50% in 30 Years: Findings from the WHO and University of Cambridge Global Violence Reduction Conference 2014
Abstract
Is it possible to cut worldwide levels of interpersonal violence in half within the coming 30 years? This question was at the centre of the first Global Violence Reduction Conference 2014, jointly organised by the University of Cambridge and the World Health Organization. The conference lured experts out of their comfort zone, asking to reflect on big strategies to reduce violence by 50% in the next 30 years. It brought together 150 leading representatives from international organisations, academia, civil society institutions and philanthropic organisations to discuss how scientific knowledge can contribute to the advancement of this violence reduction goal. The main message of the conference was that a global violence reduction by 50% in the next 30 years is achievable if policy makers harness the power of scientific evidence on violence reduction. The report outlines important key policy recommendations from the conference that could contribute to the development of a global road map for reducing violence.
Download the Report