Injury and violence
Interpersonal violence
Over 90 percent of all violence-related deaths occur in low and middle income countries
Authors:
M. L. Rosenberg; A. Butchart; J. Mercy
Publisher:
Disease Control Priorities Project, Maryland, 2006
This chapter is part of a book called Diseases Control Priorities in Developing Countries, published by the Disease Control Priorities Project. This chapter, chapter 40, focuses on interpersonal violence, which is violence inflicted by another individual or small group of individuals.
Violence kills more than 1.6 million people each year, and can result in fatalities, disabilities, and long-term physical, psychological, economic and social consequences. The direct and indirect costs of violence are enormous, directly affecting health care expenditure worldwide, and indirectly negatively impacting national and local economies. Categories of violence include self-directed violence, interpersonal violence and collective violence.
Interpersonal violence disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, with more than 90 percent of all violence-related deaths occurring in these settings. The chapter is based on a public health approach to preventing interpersonal violence. It covers the nature, burden and causes of interpersonal violence, the economic impact of violence, appropriate interventions and their cost-effectiveness, implementation of intervention strategies, and conclusions.
